Home by Twilight
by J.D. Wolf
Summary: Charlie tells Bella a secret that has been kept from her for 21-years. She and the Cullens travel to Nevada to discover her true roots, and to help her save her mother, her heritage, and the land she has learned to love.AU
1. Chapter 1

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**HOME BY TWILIGHT**

**CHAPTER ONE**

"It's time, Charlie."

Charlie choked and spit out the bite of the sandwich he had started to eat. Something told him not to answer the phone. "Hang on," he managed to get out. He covered the receiver, looked up, then closed his eyes before he sat down at the small kitchen table. "What about Renee; she'll..."

"I've already talked to her. She's leaving it up to you," the female voice continued.

"Please don't make me do this," Charlie ran his free hand through his unruly hair. "You don't know what's happened."

"I know exactly what's happened," the female voice became tight with controlled anger. "And it's been far more than YOU know. TELL HER!" the voice began to soften, but only slightly. "There will be a plane waiting for her on Wednesday. This Wednesday. It leaves at 6pm. She can bring all her friends; in fact, I insist," and the phone went dead.

Charlie sat at the table, staring at the receiver in his hand. The buzzing changed to the familiar "If you would like to make a call..." recording. Charlie got up and slammed the receiver back on its wall cradle, and began to pace the kitchen.

" Being Sheriff sure hasn't helped" he muttered as he tried to think of a way out of this trap he felt closing in around him. "Wednesday" He glanced at the calendar. "Two days" Tears began to fill his eyes, but refused to fall. "Two days," and he reached for the phone.

"I have to talk to Bella," Charlie struggled to get out.

"Charlie?" Alice answered. "Is everything alright?"

"I need Bella," He choked out, then cleared his throat. "There is something important I need to talk to her about."

"She'll be there soon," Alice told him and hung up the phone.

Charlie wandered the empty house, trying to find the words he needed. He couldn't stop the memory from slipping forward. The hospital, Renee, the doctors. Those words "...stillborn...", and "...nice couple but, well to bad..." He heard Renee's screams as she struggled to deliver that dead thing that had almost killed her. The cries. He remembered the fear that Renee would lose her mind just as she had lost their baby.

The front door slamming open brought Charlie out of his memory of the nightmare, that was the night Bella was born. His Bella... Their Bella. And there she was. The daughter he loved. His little girl all grown up. He reached for her, and she grabbed him in a safely snug hug. Charlie looked behind her to Edward, who was holding his grandchild. HIS GRANDCHILD!

"No matter what," he whispered, "You're my little girl"

"Charlie?" Bella held on to him, as she turned him toward the front room. She walked arm-in-arm with her father as they went to sit in the couch.

"Charlie," Bella looked up at her husband, who had taken up post behind the couch. His eyes were closed and his lips drawn in a tight line. He knew what it was all about, but would be no help. When she looked back at her father he had composed himself.

"You have to understand," he started quietly. "Renee was very fragile back then, when you were born." He caught his breath before he continued. "We made a promise. She said that all our lives depended on us keeping it. That the time would come when it would be safe enough, that we would have to tell you the truth. She called today. Just a few minutes ago. She says it's time."

"Who called?" Bella looked up to Edward again. He still refused to help. "Time for what?" Bella was beginning to get a little angry.

"Your biological mother" Charlie spit it out.

There was a long silence before Bella slowly rose from the couch.

"You're not making any sense," she spit out between her teeth. "I'm calling mom"

"NO" Charlie yelled to stop her. Bella turned to look at him. "She got the first call. You don't know how much this is going to hurt her. As long as you don't call her, she can believe that it hasn't happened. Please Bells," Charlie begged. "Let me try to explain. But first, you and the Cullens, probably Jacob too, are to be at the airport Wednesday. A private plane will be there. It leaves at 6pm."

"We'll be there," Edward answered before Bella could explode. He gave her a stern look and she appeared to calm down.

"O.K.," Bella sat back down on the couch. "I'll listen"

Charlie took a deep breath and blew it out slow, before he started.

" Renee had trouble from the first,"" his mind drifted back 20 years.

* * *

" I don't feel well," Renee complained, as Charlie drove her home from the game. "I think I'm going to be sick".

Charlie looked over to see her turn a slight shade of green, then throw-up all over the floor of his father's car. He pulled to the side of the road as fast as he could, jumped out and opened the door for her. "Baby! You got the flu or something? We didn't have to go tonight. We could have stayed at your place and watched T.V., or something."

"I don't feel like I have a fever," She allowed Charlie to help her out of the car, slowly, and leaned against it for support. After helping her out of the car, Charlie got into the trunk for paper towels and spray cleaner. "I just suddenly felt sick." Renee took a few deep breathes and began to relax. "I feel better," she smiled at him, then suddenly doubled over and vomited on the grass.

"Nachos on the car floor," Charlie mumbled as he used a large wad of paper towels to collect the mess in the car. "Hot dogs on the grass," he frowned as he stood up, and sprayed the interior of the car with a deodorizer. "Where's the root beer?" and up it came.

Charlie began to open his mouth, but Renee grabbed him by the front of his Fork's Spartans jacket, breathed heavily into his face and said "Shut up Charlie" and he had the good sense to obey. He helped her back into the car, with the windows now down all the way, and spun the car around.

"I thought you were taking me home?" Renee asked weakly.

"Hospital," Charlie responded.

* * *

"That was the night we found out that Renee was pregnant," Charlie returned to the present. "I need..." and Edward was holding out an open beer for him. He stared up at his son-in-law for a moment. "How do you... forget it," then he returned his attention to Bella. She had put her feet on the couch, and wrapped her arms around her legs. "The whole pregnancy was like that. She was in and out of the hospital. On bed rest for the rest of the time. She lost so much weight, I thought she was going to die. Our parents wanted us to get married. They didn't insist, but they did make sure we both knew that it was the right thing to do.I wanted to. I loved her, baby or not. So we did. I think Rene would have waited except for her mother pushing her. And then, suddenly it was time" Charlie's eyes began to glaze over as, once again, he drifted into the past.

* * *

"What a storm," Charlie kissed Renee's cheek as he took off his raincoat. He looked around at the spotless house his parents had helped them buy after the wedding. It had been more of a bribe than a wedding gift, the co-signing of the loan. Charlie had to promise to join the police force after high school, but it was worth it. "Was mom here today" he asked as he washed up for dinner.

"Who's?" Renee called from the kitchen. "Your's or mine?"

"Either" he called back, "Both" he mumbled to himself.

"Nope," she smiled at him as she set the tiny table. Renee looked around the small rooms with pride. "I did it." she beamed. "All by myself." she put her hands on her hips. "I really felt good today."

Charlie had gotten use to the house being in a state of disarray. Renee seldom felt good for an entire day, and tended to become exhausted easily. He couldn't help but smile. He jumped out of his chair, pulled hers out for her to sit, and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll get the rest of dinner," Charlie announced, and bounded into the kitchen. He had just picked up the bowls of mashed potatoes and gravy when Renee screamed for the first time that night. The dinner parts mingled on the kitchen floor, with the bits of broken china, when the second scream finally caused him to move.

The floor under Renee's chair was wet and water and blood dripped from the the chair seat. As Charlie charged to her, he took in these things that seemed wrong. He lifted her from the chair, and rushed her to his car, as she screamed again.

* * *

"The baby was already dead," he looked at Bella's hands, so white against her black jeans. "She just kept screaming." Charlie wiped his face with his hand, making sure to include his eyes. "It was... ohhh, it doesn't matter what it was." He leaned back on the couch. "Renee stopped screaming when they sedated her, then went in and took it out."

Charlie stood up and began to pace the small room. "They said that it would be "unwise" for her to try again. To much damage to her insides. They said the next try would kill her for sure; that it would be best if the option was taken from her. Her mother made that choice. We all knew that she would try again if given half a chance. So they took it from her. I think she always blamed me, but that's O.K.. I blamed me too.

There were no private hospital rooms back then. When I finally got a chance to get to the room, there was another woman there. She had a girl, but she didn't look to happy. When I walked in the room I thought she was going to attack me or something." Charlie turned to look out the window and was gone again.

* * *

"I'm sorry," she smiled. "You look a lot like someone I use to know. His hair was kind of curly like that too."

"The father?" Charlie asked.

"Yes."

"Took off?"

"I think he's dead," and she turned her head toward Renee. "I think she's waking up."

And Renee began crying. Charlie wrapped his arms around her and tried to comfort her. Nothing helped. Charlie stayed with her all night. The nurses tried to make him leave, but he refused. Renee's roommate finally had to step in and ordered the nurses from the room, complaining that they were bothering her more than Charlie.

"O.K," the woman pulled a chair up to Renee's bedside. "I think it's time to make a deal."

"I'm sorry but, who are you?" Charlie asked quietly. "The nurse called you Jane?"

"Doesn't matter," she responded. "Jane will do for now. They think I was in that boat wreck off the coast. I told them I didn't remember my name. When you're in labor, they tend to glaze over the details till a more opportune time." she paused for a moment . "So, here's the deal. I work for people that would like to have anything they can use, to hold over my head. I already know that they are going to try to prevent me from leaving when my contract is up. They don't know that I was pregnant. They don't know that I now have a baby. And they can never find out. At least not until she's able to protect herself."

"What the hell are you talking about," Charlie was beginning to get angry.

"A baby girl?" Renee was awake. "My baby girl?"

Charlie looked at the strange woman, then back at his wife. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"I will arrange everything. No one will know. She will be yours."

"But Renee's parents, mine. The doctors, nurses. They all..."

"You're not listening to me. This is vital. No one can know anything different. If anyone finds out then they will definitely kill the both of you and maybe the baby as well.

All our lives will depend on you keeping the secret."

* * *

Charlie turned back to look at Bella. "We both agreed. The next morning, Renee was holding you, feeding you. She asked me if I liked the name Isabella. Her room mate was gone. No one even remembered her ever being there. It was as if the whole thing had been a nightmare and it was you who had been born to us. Over the years I guess I had convinced myself that it really had just been a bad dream" Charlie stopped, unable to think of a single word more to say.

"And mom?" Bella asked.

"I'm not sure she remembers any of it. I don't want her to ever have to relive any of it. I think that's why she left Forks. Why she left me. So she could forget."

Bella pulled he knees closer to her chin. She couldn't believe what Charlie had just told her.

Edward was lost in his own memories. Renee's pregnancy sounded so much like Bella's that he couldn't help but feel his father-in-law's pain.

"We have to go?" Bella had trouble finishing her thought. "I have to meet her?"

"Yes."

"She expects everyone to go meet her?

"Yes.

Bella began to get louder.

"She just expects everyone to just drop everything, and jump when she says so?

"YES!" Now it was Charlie's turn to get loud.

"And if I don't?"

"Then she will probably come here," Charlie gave a small shiver, and would say no more.


	2. Chapter 2

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**HOME BY TWILIGHT**

**CHAPTER TWO**

Forks airport was small. Almost too small for the jet that waited for Bella and her family. All together there were ten of them. A large limo had come to pick them up from Carlisle Cullen's family home. The windows were dark, even the partition between the driver and the passenger section was a solid black. The drive to the airport was done in near silence. Carlisle used his cell phone to finalize the arrangements he had made for his coverage at the hospital. He was able to get 2-weeks off. When they reached the airport, Jacob was the first to break the silence.

"I don't know 'bout this," he eyed the jet suspiciously. "Looks a bit small, don't it?"

"Depends on how long the trip is," Bella responded.

The sun had just set, as they began to board the plane. The interior was larger than Bella expected. A tall slim man in white shirt, jeans and cowboy boots was inside, and helped them get organized and take their seats.

"Flight will take about 2 hours. Relax and enjoy," and he disappeared into the flight cabin.

"No reaction at all!" Emmett said quietly, as he smiled and grabbed Rosalie's hand and gave it a kiss.

Edward smiled at Emmett's ability to turn anything into an exciting adventure for him and Rosalie. But still, Edward was puzzled by the pilots reaction as well. "He knows we're different," he told the others, "but I can't get a full read on him. He just seems to expect the unusual."

"Two hours in this soup can?" Jacob was loud and annoyed.

Renesmee jumped out of her seat, next to her mother, and went to join Jacob.

"Shhh," she hushed him. "I'll be here with you," and she placed her palm against his cheek. Jacob sat back and enjoyed the images, colored by her emotions, that she shared with him.

"I'll never get tired of this," he sighed and smiled.

Renesmee giggled and relaxed next to her Jacob, while her father gave a low, short growl.

"I'll never get use to that," he told Bella, as she smiled at his annoyance. He remembered Bella facing the Volturi to save him. Bella was the bravest, most death defying human he had ever met. "To much like her mother," and he sat back as the plane taxied for a short distance. The engines roared loudly before the plane lurched forward and took flight.

"Oh hell!" Jacob squeezed out between clenched teeth. Renesmee grabbed his face tighter and calmed him.

"Perhaps, now that we are all committed to this trip," Carlisle began, "we should discuss some of the problems that may be involved in this venture."

"I got nothing," Alice started. "I haven't seen any of this. I even tried this morning. Nothing."

"If it comes to it," Jasper spoke up next, "I can fly this plane."

Carlisle's mouth lifted slightly on one side,"I doubt that will be necessary."

"I don't think any of you should have come," Bella was calm and composed. "There was no reason for all of you to put yourselves into danger. We don't know where we're going. We don't know who will be there. Alice can't see anything. None of which is a good sign. Now we have a pilot that can hide his thoughts from Edward. Someone please tell me, who would think nothing of seeing eight very pale people, one overly mature two-year old, and an Indian the size of this plane's wingspan, board their plane and say nothing but 'welcome'"

Edward reached for Bella's hand and did what he could to comfort her. "We take care of our own," he smiled at her. "I would never have let you do this alone."

"You bet, Emmett sounded excited."There just might be a fight coming. No way we let you do that alone." he smiled and winked at Bella. "Not without me, anyway."

Rosalie rolled her eyes at Emmett's enthusiasm and smiled. "I don't care what the rest of you do," Rose was always serious, "I'll see that Renesmee is safe." She glanced back at Jacob, who had given her a dirty look. "Jacob and I will," she corrected.

They finished the flight in silence, at least until the plane began to descend.

"Shitshitshitshit..." was Jacobs new mantra.

"Look at me" Renesmee demanded of him. Jacob opened his eyes, and for a while found himself lost in her large golden eyes. At least long enough for the plane to touch down.

"The landing seemed odd" Esme commented to Carlisle.

"I've had to get use to using small airfields," the pilot was standing at the plane door. He opened it and assisted the Cullens with their luggage. "There's a van on the side of the building," and he pointed to the hanger they had taxied up to.

It was closer to dark than twilight, as they headed for the van. Bella noticed some workers far to her left. "They seem to be working awfully hard not to notice us," she whispered to Edward, who had already spotted them.

"They're afraid."

"Of us?"

"Of the plane" Edward responded with a tinge of curiosity in his voice. "Of anything that comes out of it."

Emmett and Jasper loaded the luggage into the back of the van, while the others got in. Jacob walked around the van, sniffing here and there, for any sign of where, or who might have been near it. The pilot of the plane soon arrived and got behind the wheel. Jacob got into the passenger seat, next to the driver. For just a moment Edward and Jacob exchanged looks, and Edward nodded in assent.

"Well, for what it's worth,... Welcome to Wells, Nevada. We got about 40 miles left to go, so sit back and relax. You're almost there," he announced with a broad smile.

"Almost where?" Bella asked.

"I wasn't suppose to say until after we landed, just in case you didn't believe me. We're headed for a property a few miles into the mountains outside of Deeth."

"Deeth?" Jacob gave a small chuckle.

"Yeeeah, she said you might react something like that. Deeth is an old ghost town just over 20 miles from here. They say that it use to be called Death, 'cause so many people died from lack of water, tramping around in the desert, 'round here. We'll try to avoid Deeth. Kind of a round-a-bout way to get to the house, but the damn place is full of werewolves these days."

Every head, in unison, swung toward the driver, in disbelief.

"Werewolves?" Carlisle's calm demeanor allowed him the best chance to question the driver, without showing the wrong reaction. "You don't really believe in werewolves do you?" he smiled at the driver, so he could see it in his rear view mirror.

The driver looked up at his mirror, shook his head, and gave Carlisle a broad smile, then turned back to concentrate on the dark road. The broad easy smile continued. Carlisle glanced at Edward, but he only shrugged his shoulders and watched Bella's reflection in the window.

"Hey," Jacob began. "You got a name?"

"I'm Bill," he smiled. "When the boss lady gets mad, she calls me William the first. I do the flying and driving. You'll meet Tony when we get there. Boss never gets mad at him. He takes care of the animals. and her. Use to be a vet, I guess. His wife, we all call her Connie, came from the slums of Mexico City. She cooks, and man can she cook! She keeps house too. Don't cross her though. She's mean to anyone that tries to hurt the boss. Her and Tony got a girl. Nita is ...oh... 12 now I think. Smart kid. Cute as a button. Got a mean streak like her mother. You just don't see it as much." The driver turned off the interstate and headed cross-country. "Hang on," he told his passengers. "From here on out, it gets pretty rough."

The rest of the trip, the last 15 miles, took longer than the 25 before. The van climbed at a fairly steady rate, as they drove on into the mountains southeast of Deeth. When the van finally stopped, Bella was grateful for the reprieve. Jacob had been holding on to the dash so tightly that he had left finger indentations in it.

As they began to unload the van, Tony came running up to Bill. The two of them stepped away from the group, then Bill began to run for a long, garage type structure with several large bay doors. In less that a minute, he had opened one of the bay doors and drove off in a jeep, fast.

"Is something wrong?" Carlisle asked Tony.

"Bad timing," he responded. Tony grabbed a couple suitcases and headed for the house. "Please," he motioned for the others to follow him. "Let's get inside."

Once inside, Connie took over. She helped Alice separate the luggage, and showed everyone to there rooms.

"When you are ready, I will explain something..." she seemed at a loss for words.

"Orders?" Edward helped.

"Yes," she smiled. "The Lady, she wishes you to be comfortable. She has orders."

"Thank you," Edward waited for her to leave, then closed the door. After he and Bella had put some things away, they met the others in Carlisle and Esme's room.

"I can't get a read on any of these people," Edward was getting upset by his seeming loss of ability. "I can read that they are there. I get an emotion every now and then, but nothing solid."

"That's why we are here," came a small voice from the direction of the door.

Everyone turned to see the tall slim figure of a girl enter the room.

"I'm Juanita, but they all call me Nita." She also had a big smile on her face. Her eyes searched the crowd until they found Renesmee. "You're the granddaughter," Nita approached her slowly. "If you want, we can go do something until the others are done. We can't go outside alone. Not even you. Not until we find out what happened to the Lady."

"We can be friends?" Renesmee asked.

"Absolutely" Nita's excitement was evident.

"Wait," Bella started. "What did you mean when you came in."

"The Lady likes to come home to a quiet house. Everyone here has a natural ability to shield their thoughts."

Edward looked relieved. "And the "Lady" not being here?"

"There was some problem down toward Tent Mountain. Anyway the Lady took off in that direction. That was about four hours ago. Dad thought he heard a rifle shot about an hour ago. The Lady has not come back. Bill's a finder. He'll bring her in. Can Renesmee come to my room? She can look around while I finish my physics homework. I have almost the highest room in the house," she whispered to Renesmee.

Renesmee looked to her parents. Bella nodded and the two girls took off.

"Guess it's time," Edward listened to the response of the others, and the family went down the stairs together.

Connie was busying herself by dusting clean tables and straightening decorations as the Cullen's arrived in the large room. A fire was going in the fireplace and seating had been arranged for everyone. After they had all sat down, Connie produced a note from her apron pocket.

"The Lady wishes you welcome. She says to say that there is a troublesome mountain lion to the north. Between here and Chimney Rock. There may be more than one. She suggests that you keep your hunting to the north and east, at least until she gets this werewolf situation under control. Black bears are mostly to the south and at a higher elevation. She does not feel that you are interested, but small game and several spe...spe... kinds of sheep and deer are close to here." Connie had become flustered at her inability to pronounce the word on the paper, but she continued anyway. "You are NOT to harm any horse. The Lady says that the wolf should be especially careful so as not to be shot for a Deeth werewolf." Connie took a deep breath and smiled at her presentation. She pointed to the map on the wall to the right of the fireplace. It was a huge, textured map. "The blue areas are the property of the Lady. The red are danger zones; hikers, campers or werewolves roam these areas the most. The green are prime hunting grounds."

Emmett got up to study the map closer. "I thought this was all like some sort of tourist area?"

"It is the property of the Lady!" Connie held her head high as she said this.

"Why do you all call her "the Lady"," Bella took a step toward Connie.

"You are the prin..."

"Constance Maria!" Tony reprimanded is wife, a he entered the house.

"It is for her to tell you who she is. Until that time, she is the Lady."

"But you say it with such reverence," Edward was curious about this woman that commanded such respect and devotion.

"You will know," was all Connie had time to say, before the sound of a running horse brought fear to her eyes. " He is alone!" she yelled as she ran for the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**HOME BY TWILIGHT**

**Chapter 3**

It took only seconds for the large house to disgorge it's contents. Tony and Connie worked their way to the front of the crowd, as the black horse reared and screamed at the newcomers. Tony stepped forward and grabbed the reins to bring the horse's tantrum to an end. He examined the animal, then announced what the Cullens already knew. There was blood on the saddle, a lot of it.

Connie's hands covered her mouth as the jeep roared toward the crowd, and slid to a stop as close to the door as Bill was able to get it.

"Bastards shot her right through the heart," Bill yelled, as he ran to remove his passenger.

Bella felt that the world had suddenly begun to move in slow motion. This could not be her mother. She was too young. Bella remembered then. It had been at least 6 years, but she had not aged at all.

"Aunt Jenna?" Bella looked at Edward. "It's my aunt Jenna. We thought she was dead five years ago."

Carlisle stepped forward to examine her. He laid a hand on Bill's arm. "She's dead," he said gently to him.

"You know nothing!" Bill growled back, and brushed off Carlisle's hand.

Edward stepped forward then. "Where do you want her?" he asked, as he carefully took her from Bill's struggling arms.

"Top floor," Connie yelled, as she ran into the house.

In a blink, Edward was gone. He examined the layout of the house as he went. Main floor, general living, second floor was guest rooms. The third floor must have been for Nita. There was a bedroom, and what looked like a classroom. The top floor was one large open space. A full size bed was at the center. The roof was a simple tarp pulled over a wood framework. The square that was its center was about ten feet wide, and empty, except for the tarp.

Edward placed Jenna on the bed. Carlisle and Bella were right behind him. Tony and Connie arrived a few minutes behind them, burdened with medical supplies, and small bowls of soft foods and thick liquids.

"She must sit up," Connie nodded to Bella.

"But she's dead," Bella complained sofly, but obeyed. She lifted her aunt/mother's head and sat behind her.

Connie began to slowly force food into Jenna's mouth, and used the thick fluids to wash it down her throat. Tony began to work on the gunshot wound. He pulled back her shirt and began by cleaning the area. When he had removed the blood and dirt to his satisfaction, he began to probe the actual bullet hole.

"Lodged in the lower right ventricle," he told himself. Tony talked to himself as he worked to remove the bullet that had stopped Jenna's heart. When he was done he bandaged her and had Connie stop feeding her. "Let her rest," he smiled at his wife.

"But she's dead!" Bella repeated softly. She could not understand the lengths these two devoted employees had gone to, to save a dead person?

"No," Tony smiled at Bella. "Her heart has stopped. It is not the worst injury she has ever had."

"Not the worst?," but Connie and Tony just nodded and smiled at her, before they left.

Edward went to sit near Bella, who had not moved form under Jenna. He placed his hand on Jenna's head, making it look like he was holding Bella's hand. He felt it then. Jenna was still there. He listened intently to her thoughts, trying to catch a full thread. All he got was pain. Rage, fear and pain. I was not prepared when her heart gave a tremendous THUMP, and her mind snapped shut, and Edward lost all contact with her.

Everyone in the room stared a Jenna. Bella felt it, as her throat slowly swallowed. They all watched as her chest inched up as she began to breath. Carlisle moved to check her heartbeat to be sure, but it was beating, slowly, weakly, but it was there. "Amazing," was all he could say."

"You won't want to be there when she wakes up" once again Nita had managed to come in without any of the Cullen's hearing her. "It probably won't be until tomorrow, but still, that will not be a safe place to be."

"And why is that," Esme asked Nita sweetly.

Nita gave her a short laugh. "Because she's going to be pissed, with a capital P. Wouldn't you be, if someone shot you in the heart?" She shook her head slightly, from side to side. "You ain't seen nothin' till you seen Jenna PO'ed." Nita actually looked a little scared. "She's going to kill those wolves." The fear turned to a gleam in her eyes, at the thought of the wolves being killed. That look almost caused Bella to shiver. It was the look of blood lust. This human child had a blood lust to rival he own. But for this child, it was reserved for werewolves?

"I'm going to bed," Nita announced. "Tomorrow is going to be a rough day," and she left the room as silently as she had arrived.

The Cullens gathered together in a corner if the large room. Bella felt dazed as her mind quickly reviewed what she knew about he aunt.

"Mom said that she wasn't her sister, but I could call her Aunt Jenna." everyone listened, as Bella gave them everything she could remember, about this strange woman. "She said to never mention her to dad, because he really didn't like her . She would stop and see me about once every year. I always got a birthday present, and Christmas present." Bella looked back at the bed. "She looks the same as the first time I remember seeing her." Bella looked up at Edward, "About six years ago, everything stopped. We thought she had died or something."

"Even touching her, I get nothing," Alice informed the family.

"Well, what is she?" Emmett asked, a little to loud. "She sure doesn't smell human. Not her blood, anyway."

Jacob walked slowly around the bed. "Other blood here to," he informed the others. "Horse, I think. A lot of it. I can smell at least two other wolves; probably the werewolves they all keep talking about."

Renesmee had come to the room shortly before Nita had left. She stayed close to Jacob, as he circled the bed. When she was close enough, she sat on the bed next to her grandmother's head. She picked up her hand and held it close to her, as she laid her palm on her grandmother's cheek.

"Rage," Renesmee whispered. Jacob came back to her, to kneel at her feet, so she could tell him. "So much rage." her head turned slightly to the right. 'I'm trying to let her know that I am here. That we are here. But the rage." Renesmee let go of her grandmothers hand and placed her other palm against Jacobs cheek.

Jacob closed his eyes and stiffened. The images and rage that Renesmee showed him were overwhelming. Men catching horses, slicing chunks off their hoofs until they bled. When the smell of the blood become too much for them, they would change and rip one of the defenseless animals to pieces. Then they would change back to men and laugh.

Jacob jumped back from Renesmee. "NO!," he spat out loudly. "That is not the way a wolf behaves. " There were tears in his eyes as his anger grew.

"Control," Edward warned Jacob sharply.

Jacob stood up straight and took Renesmee's hand from her grandmother's cheek. He looked to Edward and watched as Edward slowly gave consent.

"I need a run," he smiled down at Renesmee. "Let's go find something fast to chase," And the two left the house by jumping out of one of the large windowless openings in the rooms walls. They headed north, Jacob running full out with Renesmee at his side.

Connie arrived shortly after Jacob and Renesmee had left. She went to the limp figure on the bed and began to clean her and change her clothing into something more suitable for bed. Bella watched her work. She noticed the caution and reverence she used to handle Jenna. Bella listened as Connie recited a poem, or prayer over the reviving woman.

"Beware you should for the Queen shall rise

In all her rage and glory

beware for those she doth despise

and those who know not her story"

Connie repeated the lines over and over as she worked. An homage to the resurrection of this very mysterious woman.

"Bill said the this is not the worst injuries that she has ever had," Bella's voice was gentle even though she felt the exact opposite."What could be worse than dead?"

Connie stopped her fussing over her patient and sat up to look at Bella. She patted the bed for Bella to sit down.

"She may not like me telling you, but you should know. I heard you say that you thought she was dead five years ago. Well, so did we. You see, she didn't live here all the time. She came by every couple months and made sure everything was going fine." Connie's accent was thick, but her English was very good. "When she had been gone for a year, we were very concerned. Tony talked to someone she knew in Las Vega: she sometimes worked at one of the casinos. She has the voice of an angel." Connie shook her head to clear out the unnecessary. "They had not had word from her either. It was another 6 months before she was found. The man from Las Vegas brought her here. She was," Connie shivered at the memory.

Edward had come to stand behind Bella, as the rest of the Cullens gathered closer to listen. Edward gave Bella's shoulder a squeeze, as he saw the image of Jenna in Connie's mind. He looked again at the woman laying in the bed. 'Bella's mother,' he thought to himself. He smiled at her for a moment. A sad smile. 'This is where you get your strength,' and he turned back to hear the rest of the story.

"She had no back," tears began to flow down Connie's face. "They had beat her so much, we almost didn't recognize her. Her face was purple and black. Maggots covered her back, chewing away the infection. She was thin. Skin over bones. She had no lumps or swellings from the beatings, there was not enough flesh for it." Connie paused for a moment. "There were broken bones, some of them already mended or mending. We think that whoever had her, had been beating and torturing her for at least a year. We, me and Tony, we worked for three months before she woke up for the first time. She was not healthy for over eight months. The nightmares for another year," Connie reached for Bella's hand. "She could not see you like that. She refused to. By the time she was ready, things had changed. You were with your dad."

"And Dad doesn't like her."

"How would you feel about the person that knew a secret that could destroy your family?" Tony appeared at the door. "Connie, it's been two hours," he reminded her.

"Two hours?" Bella was curious.

"She requires food and consciousness to heal," Tony answered as Connie started down the stairs. "She may look like she is sleeping, but be full conscious. It is only that her whole being is concentrating on mending her wounds. There was only one wound. She should be fine by tomorrow morning. She may wake up very angry," he gave a small chuckle. "Very angry, but she will be fine by tomorrow afternoon."

A voice yelled up from the ground outside.

"Tony!" it was Bill. "Jeep's gassed and ready. Will the Vampires be joining us in the chase? I hear daylight don't bother them."

Tony looked at the Cullens for an answer.

"Chase?" Carlisle asked.

Tony chuckled again, "Kind of forgot... When Jenna wakes up, she's going to be more than mad. She's going to take off out of here like a rocket. We'll have to chase her down and make sure she don't hurt herself. " Connie arrived with a tray of food when Tony turned to her. "Bill's ready for the bag." the he turned to the Cullens. "Connie will pack her a bag of clothes. Believe me when I say, she won't care that she's just in a nightie right now." Tony smiled and rubbed his hands together,"So, what's it going to be, run along with us, ride a horse, or stay here?"

I'll be running,"Bella answered.

Edward looked around at the others, "We all will."

"The wolf should stay here," Bill yelled up to them. "We sure don't want her turning on him, before she finds out that he's a friendly. Kids should stay as well."

"THE WOLF has a name," Renesmee told Bill. "It's Jacob." and she ran into the house.

"OK, Miss Cullen," Bill exaggerated her name. "Jacob it is," and he walked into view. "WOW! Tony, take a look at this. This guy's a real monster. I was referring to his size, Miss Cullen," and Bill tipped his ball cap to Renesmee as she returned from her trip to retrieve new clothes for Jacob. He looked squarely at Jacob, "You got one mean looking size there kid. When the shit hits the fan, I hope you're still here. We can always use a good fighter."

"Hey," Emmett could stand it no more. "I'm no push over. And I think I enjoy a good fight better than this walking door mat."

Renesmee threw Jacob some pants she gotten for him, and he disappeared around the house to dress. When he returned he was also wearing a huge grin.

"Want to check that out?" he challenged Emmett.

"Not now he doesn't," Rosalie was at the front door, one hand on her hip, the other on the door frame.

Renesmee jumped into Jacobs arms and popped him in the nose.

"Ouch," Jacob grabbed his nose. "What was that for?" he held Renesmee away from him so he could look at her better, as water filled his eyes from her painful nose punch. "I was just joking," he complained, as she walked into the house. "Come on Nessie," he pleaded. "Don't be mad."

Despite everything that was happening, Bella couldn't help but smile. She remembered a similar event that nearly broke her hand. She enjoyed the fact that someone had finally smacked that smug, big nose. Edward caught her smiling and smiled back at her. He remembered that day as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**HOME BY TWILIGHT**

**Chapter 4**

Most of the humans got to bed at about midnight. The Cullens took up stations around the property, just as a precaution. Bella stayed in the room with Jenna. She watched as the woman lay almost perfectly still. Even her breathing seemed shallow, and very controlled. Connie had shown Bella which foods would help Jenna heal the fastest, and how to prepare them. Bella took over the two-hour feedings, so Connie could get some sleep. Renesmee was sleeping in Nita's room. Inwardly, Bella smiled; Renesmee's first sleep-over. Bella looked out of one of the windowless openings. She looked down and spotted Jasper. She gave him a short wave, then returned to watching Jenna.

Jasper had positioned himself at the Jeep, near the front door.

"You know, all this protection stuff is unnecessary," Bill had told Jasper before he headed for bed.

"A strong perimeter is always a good idea," Jasper seemed surprised at Bill's lack of concern.

"There's not a one of those freakin' werewolves got the balls to face us here." Bill spit at the ground, and rubbed in into the dirt with the toe of his boot. "Chicken shit mother..." Bill looked back at Jasper, "You'd think with Jenna down, now would be the time to attack, but naw. They don't have it in 'em. They only attack the defenseless. And if their prey isn't defenseless, they make 'em that way before they kill 'em."

Jasper nodded at the information. His military mind took in everything. As a member of the Cullen family, he had enjoyed the peace. Yes, there had been the occasional skirmish, and he had reveled in his ability to contribute to the protection of the family he had grown to love. But, for the most part, he had learned to enjoy his existence, especially with Alice. She had taught him what fun was; something that during his early years as a vampire, he had lost.

" Isn't that what they have done?" Jasper asked. "By taking Miss Jenna out of the equation, haven't they made it easier to attack?"

"You'd think so, but no!" Bill was adamant. "We're a solid group. A family. They know we'd fight to the end to protect her. Still too much work for them. More likely they were checking on her recuperative time."

"Then we will be here to alert you, when Miss Jenna wakes," Jasper told Bill.

Bill laughed loud and hard, "Boy!" he gave Jasper a friendly slap on the arm. "There's no warning for Jenna waking up. It happens in a split second, and just about the whole world hears it." His mood turned serious for a moment. "It will be nice to have some here that can maybe keep up with her," Bill looked Jasper in the eye. "She's going to do one of two things tomorrow. She's going to go check on the injured mustangs, or she's going after the wolves in Deeth. She goes for the wolves," Bill looked worried, "Well, she may not be ready for what she finds. We don't know how many there are. We don't know who the leader is. She goes there, she'll be going in blind." Bill took a breath. "And, there will be no stopping her." He stopped a moment and smiled a sad smile, "She goes for the horses, we'll have a better chance of reasoning with her." He gave Jasper a pat on the shoulder as he walked past him, "See you in the morning, boy."

Jasper laughed at the term 'boy' that Bill was so fond of. "If you only knew," Jasper whispered to himself.

"Only knew what?" Alice gave Jasper a hug from behind, and laid her cheek against his strong back.

"Boy," he smiled and turned around to face Alice. "You heard?"

"Sure!" Alice had a way of making serious, sound like fun time. "I hope there's no fight tomorrow. I'd rather get to know the humans I'm fighting with, before the fight starts. Learned that from Bella." She smiled up at Jasper, "Humans can be very unpredictable."

"We'll get more intell tomorrow. We need to know more about those werewolves, before we have to face them."

Alice watched as Jasper's mind mulled over some ideas as to getting the information he needed. She watched and allowed this for a moment. Then, she grabbed his chin, and just as he was about to speak, kissed his lips. Jasper gave up on the idea he had been about to voice, and surrendered himself to the woman in front of him, but only for a moment.

Alice pulled back from Jasper and smiled again. "I know," she turned and looked out at the dark desert. "Patrol time," and she took off, running a circuit around the house, out-buildings and property within a mile of the house.

Alice made sure to go a different way every time she ran her rounds, but she found Jacob every time.

"You should get some rest," Alice warned him on her third circuit.

Jacob, in wolf form, just shook his huge head and growled.

"Well, you better be careful. They all say she should be waking up at about six or seven AM. You probably don't want to be a wolf then." and off Alice went.

Jacob considered her advice and, as much as he hated to, took it. He loped back to the house through the quiet desert night. Jasper was there to greet him as he arrived.

"Hey, Jake," Jasper welcomed him. "Got a seat for you in the jeep, in the morning. That is, if you want it."

Jake the wolf nodded and padded up to his room. He changed to his human form, then got a pair of boxers to sleep in. His dreams were filled with images of werewolves chasing down the injured horses; then it was small children. Then they were chasing Renesmee, hungry for her flesh.

"NO!'" Jake woke up with a start just before dawn. He dressed and went to check on his Nessie. She was sound asleep on the lower bunk of the beds in Nita's room. Rose stood in the corner, keeping watch. They nodded to each other, then Jake continued to make rounds of the house.

Rose had spent the entire night with the girls. She had watched them play, and learn, and talk, and laugh. She had been concerned that Renesmee might inadvertently harm Nita, But she never came close. Renesmee had used great restraint, while playing with the human girl. And the human girl seemed to have been aware that her new friend could cause her great harm. Together the two had studied the stars with a telescope, painted works of art with water colors, and danced to music Rose had never heard. They had finally fallen asleep at about 11PM. Rose had then taken up her current position, and marveled at the two girls. It had been one of the most miraculous evenings Rose had ever had. She wished Emmett had been with her, to share it.

Emmett had overheard Tony voice a concern about the injured horses. He was arguing with Connie, about going out to the canyon, where they were trapped, and keeping watch. Emmett stepped in and solved the issue for them.

"Bella knows what to do for Jenna," he told Connie, "so you can relax. As for the horses," he turned to Tony, "I got nothing to do. I'll go out and keep watch." He had gotten the directions from Tony, told Rose of his plans, and was gone. As he jogged through the back door, he waved to Carlisle and Esme. They had taken up posts along the back of the house.

"What do you think so far," Esme asked her mate.

"I remember a story," Carlisle looked out at the desert. "Maybe a hundred years old or so. But I'm withholding judgment for now."

"Sometimes, Carlisle," Esme looked at him sternly, "you can be so damn cryptic."

Carlisle turned to look at her and smiled, "What?"

She just shook her head and walked back to the other end of the house.

"No, really. What?" Carlisle followed his wife. Sometimes she got in this mood, and Carlisle didn't understand why. Try as he might, he did not understand women. He and Esme loved each other. Sometime he felt that she was reading his mind, she knew him that well. But sometimes, she made no sense at all.

Esme needed Carlisle to talk to her. To tell her what he thought. Not to, "...reserve judgment..." . She had her own concerns. Should this be a fight that they should be involved in? Should they just force Bella to go back home with them? Esme knew they couldn't leave Bells here alone, but she had her doubts. "... reserve Judgment..." simply didn't cut it.

Esme was so angry at Carlisle, that she was face to face with Edward before she knew it.

"She is Bella's mother," Edward told Esme. "I can smell it in the blood."

She put her arms around Edward, "I'm sorry, Edward. I was just worried about everyone." Esme felt ashamed of herself, for what she had been thinking.

Edward gave her a hug,"I understand. This is all so... " Edward looked around the desert, before he finished the sentence. His vampire senses knew where everyone was. He could even smell the blood from the injured horses, and hoped Emmett was doing OK. "...weird. I just can't think of another word, except maybe strange.

"I knew that Bella was different, even as a human, but it never occurred to me that her mother wasn't human. We know that from the smell of her blood. Not even Jasper was tempted. We know that she can bring herself back from the dead, and heal herself." Edward released Esme to Carlisle, "We'll find out more tomorrow." And Edward went into the back door of the house. Bella would be coming down soon, for food for Jenna. He prepared the tray and took it up to Bella. They spent the rest of the night watching and feeding Jenna. Edward would hold her up, while Bella fed her. They were a team, in more ways than one. The others may have their doubts, but Edward didn't. Bella wanted to be here, so here they would be, until she got the answers she needed.


	5. Chapter 5

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**HOME BY TWILIGHT**

**Chapter 5**

The sound that pierced the air was a shrill, Earth shattering, screech. Bella had been listening to the slow but steady rhythm of Jenna's heart beat, and her constant shallow breathing. They gave no indication that she was awake, or about to awaken. The scream was so sudden, it had set both her and Edward into an instant defensive stance. They watched as Jenna sprouted wings that lifted her from the bed as she screamed. The scream altered, as her form began to change. She shimmered and shifted from human, to that of a huge black lion, to that of a horse with huge black wings. She looked the same way her horse had looked the night before; black and furious, but this time with wings. For a short moment she looked straight into Bella's eyes, and Bella felt and saw pain. Then she was gone. Now Bella understood the open roof, as the tarp was shredded and fell away in pieces.

"She's headed for the horses," Bella yelled, as she and Edward dived out one of the windows on the south side of the room.

They hit the ground, and took off like runners on a race track, to follow her. Jenna set a fast pace. Bella had difficulty keeping up with her, and Edward refused to leave Bella's side. Carlisle soon caught up with the two runners. Esme had stayed behind to keep watch over the children, with Rose.

Connie was already up and in the kitchen long before all hell broke loose upstairs. She handed out biscuits filled with ham and eggs, as the human contingent headed out to their vehicles. Jacob was in the jeep, when Bill arrived. He had been up when Connie had started cooking and had eaten a half dozen of the huge biscuits, before the alarm went off. Bill swallowed his down as fast as he could. Jacob was impressed. Only two bites, and the Jeep was roaring out into the desert.

Tony followed along much more slowly. Alice had been near the house when the alarm went off. She and Jasper, after the Jeep had left, chose to help Tony and Connie, with the medical supplies and extra food Tony would be taking there in his truck. Buckets and a large container of drinking water had already been loaded onto the truck the night before. When the last of the supplies was loaded, Alice joined Tony in the truck. Jasper ran along the driver's side, keeping watch over the slow moving supply truck. Connie stayed behind to prepare breakfast for the children and see to any needs that Rosalie or Esme might have.

Jasper wanted to kick himself for not saying anything to anyone else, about his suspicions, when he spotted the wolves. At about the same time Alice smelled them. There were only two. "They don't expect much resistance," Jasper said to Alice.

The truck was loud, and they were separated by about 20 feet, so Alice was the only one that could hear him.

"No matter what," she told Tony, "keep going. Don't stop till you reach the others." Alice opened the passenger side door and jumped to the truck bed among the supplies. She made sure that the passenger door was shut tight, then jumped out of the bed, to join Jasper. "Maybe Bill's right. These guys are dumb."

"Don't bet on it," Jasper responded. "They were smart enough to find the weakest part of the chain." He looked around and verified the distance between them and the two wolves approaching the truck from the passenger side. "Tony is the one that does all the medical operations. He did a good job on Jenna. That's why she healed so fast. He also takes care of the horses. My guess is that they've done something like this before and studied the routine.

They ran on in silence for a few seconds.

"Ready?" Jasper smiled at Alice. She smiled back in response.

"Now!" Jasper whispered through his teeth.

Alice and Jasper jumped over the truck, in unison, and landed face -to-face with the surprised werewolves. Alice ripped the head off of the wolf in front of her, then turned to Jasper. He was having a little more difficulty. His wolf was almost twice the size of hers, and angrier. Jasper had it around the neck, but couldn't get a hand free to finish the job. Alice stepped over to face Jasper.

"Trouble, my love?" she asked gently.

"Just a little," Jasper struggled to get a hand free, as the werewolf tried to take his arm off for the third time.

Alice took a step closer and the wolf snapped at her.

"Bad werewolf," Alice reprimanded him. "If any of our friends were to see you behave like that, they would rip you to shreds... slowly," and Alice's hands snaked out and grabbed the upper and lower parts of the werewolves muzzle and pulled it apart like a wishbone.

Jasper was finally able to finish the job by ripping the werewolves head off. As the two returned to human form, Alice started a fire while Jasper made sure that the heads and bodies did not rejoin.

"I don't know that much about werewolves," he confided to Alice.

"I don't either," Alice replied. "Just some old fairy tales." She had the fire going good. "I know that Caius had them exterminated about 500 years ago. But that may have only been in Europe. I think it was about 500 years," she mused as they threw in the heads, and then the bodies of the men who had been werewolves a moment ago. "Better safe than sorry."

They stayed long enough to be sure that the bodies were completely destroyed. Then they raced to catch up with the truck.

Bella and Edward spotted Emmett in the distance. They raced to get to him, as Jenna flew past him, and dropped out of sight. Bella tried to fly past Emmett, but he grabbed her and swung her around to face Edward.

"It's alright," Edward told her, "Take a look."

Bella took a look at the cliff she had been about to jump over. It was not that the cliff was high, 30 to 40 foot. It was what was at the bottom. To the east a thin trickle of water fed narrow swathes of grass on each side of it. A few horses had made it to that end of the canyon, but most of them were directly below the cliff where Bella stood. The smell of blood was strong, but she kept her blood lust under control. Several horses were laying down. Bella counted at least four that were dead. Two of the four had been ripped to pieces. To the left, about six horses were limping toward a figure. A naked figure. Bella smiled a sad smile and jumped into the canyon. Most of the horses still alive, seemed to be in too much pain to care that a vampire was in their midst. Bella slowly made her way to the naked figure at the center of the canyon.

"I've told them that you are safe, that you won't hurt them," Her quiet voice sounded like Bella's. "You or your friends. I'm not sure how they'll take Jacob, though. They aren't likely to trust a wolf, no matter what I say."

"What do you suggest?" Bella asked.

"The far north end of the canyon. He can patrol the opening of the canyon. If he doesn't mind." Jenna buried her face in the neck of another horse.

Bella watched as the horses seemed to feel better, walk better. After she did this, they would walk gingerly to the stream to drink and nibble at the grass. She watched as Jenna grabbed hold of another horse. She saw how the horses hooves seemed to rise slightly, and stop bleeding. She also saw how Jenna seemed to grow weaker, more tired.

"You should rest for a while," Bella started.

"To many to heal," Jenna's voice began to convey the exhaustion she was feeling.

Bella knew she had to think of another approach to this strange woman. "Are you really my mother?"

Jenna gave a groan and fell to her knees. About that time, Bill drove slowly through the injured and freshly healed horses.

"Jake is at the mouth of the canyon," he grabbed the bag that Connie had packed and ran to Jenna. "No blood lust in that one. Just revenge for the ones that did this, just like the rest of us." Bill slid to his knees next to Jenna and helped her dress.

"She's OK,"Bella told him. "Just exhausted."

"I don't know how you did it, but thank you," Bill looked at Bella. "We usually have to wait until she nearly drops dead, before we can make her stop."

By the time Jenna was dressed, and had stomped her feet into her boots, everyone was there. Emmett chose to remain on the cliff above. Jasper and Alice were helping Tony unload the truck, and feed and water the horses that couldn't make it to the stream. Carlisle was examining the horses. Using the supplies that Tony had brought he had begun to clean and dress wounds that had nothing to do with their hooves. Edward helped Carlisle with the horses, leaving Bella to have a talk with Jenna.

They walked to the far west of the canyon, beyond the carnage, and blood. "I was in an accident when I was young," Jenna started. "They said that I was dead. Things like that didn't happen very often, back then. Dead was dead."

Bella listened in silence. She simply let Jenna talk, as they walked the canyon.

"I didn't have any family," Jenna continued. "My mother died when I was born. It wasn't until years later that I began to dig into her story. All I really know about her was that she was found on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Odd, I know. And that she died of heart failure. That's what they call it when you can't breath, and your heart dies from lack of oxygen. I did find the doctor that delivered me. He remembered her. He said it was the strangest case he had ever worked on. He said that there was no reason for her to have died. She appeared perfectly healthy. No signs of asthma. No reason for her to have any trouble breathing. He said "... it was as if gravity was crushing her..." I was never able to find out anything more. Back then, they cremated the bodies that weren't claimed after about a year.

I went about my life, as anyone would. Well, stumbled through it was more like it. Yeah, we have that in common too." Jenna smiled at Bella. "Was it really necessary to become a vampire, to feel like you belonged?"

Bella was surprised by the question. "It seemed the thing..."

"Bullshit," Jenna interrupted. "I should have contacted you sooner. This was all completely indulgent on your part.'

"I was dying!" Bella protested.

"Maybe, but you wouldn't have stayed that way."

"We didn't know that."

"And that was my fault." Jenna stopped and looked down at the ground. "There are so many things you need to know," she took Bella by the arm and started back to the horses. "But first I need to finish here. There's only a few horses left to heal."

"You heal yourself. You come back from the dead. You're a shape shifter, and you heal animals." Bella stopped Jenna and made her look at her. "What are you?"

"Your mother, my dear Bells. I'm your mother." and Jenna walked over to a horse, laid her head against it's neck to begin the rapid healing of the suffering animals hooves.

Bella went to help Carlisle and Edward.

"Get anything useful?" Edward asked, as they worked side by side.

"Not much. No grandparents on her side. She doesn't know where she came from. She's going to give me more, when this is all taken care of." Bella stopped what she was doing and looked around the canyon.

It took the rest of the day, to complete the work that the horses required. When they were finished with all they could do, Jasper set up a watch for the canyon. Emmett had refused to leave his post. Jacob was replaced because he was still making the horses nervous. Carlisle took up his post. He wanted to keep an eye on a couple of horses that had more severe injuries. Jasper and Alice helped Tony and Bill repack the truck. When that final chore was completed, Bill and Jake were the first to leave. Jasper and Alice hopped in the truck with Tony, and they followed the Jeep out. Edward, Bella, and Jenna brought up the rear by running behind the truck. After the attack earlier that morning, they all used more caution on the way back to the house.

They could all smell the food that Connie was cooking, long before they arrived at the house. As they all walked through the front door, Connie had the girls handing out towels and wash clothes for everyone. There would be no discussion or food, until they were all clean. The humans were pushed into the basement, while the Cullen's all went to their rooms. Bella looked back at Jenna, as she went up the stairs to clean up. Jenna shimmered and was instantly clean, body, hair, and clothes. Bella turned back to the stairs.

"Edward?" she whispered.

"Yeah!" He whispered back. "Let's get cleaned up."

During their showers they were both caught up in their own thoughts. They did not talk again until they had all gathered down stairs.


	6. Chapter 6

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**HOME BY TWILIGHT**

**Chapter 6**

The Cullens had gathered in the front room, with the map and fireplace. The stairs ran behind them, directly across from the fireplace. The large opening at the foot of the stairs contained the front door, and the entryway to the dinning room and the front room. There was a very large table in the dinning roon, and the humans all sat at the far end, toward the door to the kitchen. Connie was busy making sure they were fed a proper meal. Esme soon took over the serving, and allowed Connie to sit next to Tony and find out how the day had gone.

"Well," He started, "We'd still be out there if it weren't for the Cullens."

Esme lifted an eyebrow and smiled.

Tony saw it and smiled back, "It usually takes us two or three days, to do what we did just today. Oh!" Tony turned his attention to Jenna. "I turned Drifter loose before I came in. He headed straight for the canyon."

"Good," Jenna nodded. "He'll help keep the mares calm and together in the canyon, until they're able to run free again."

"Yeah," Bill looked down at his plate. "Looks like they ripped the guts out of the herd stallion first thing," Bill began to devour his food, without tasting it.

Jenna, sitting next to Bill, reached for his hand, "Drifter will cover those mares now. The herd will be stronger for it." She let his hand go, and Bill continued to eat at a slower pace. This time, tasting his food.

Jacob, trying his best to behave civilized, devoured as much food as he could get on his plate. It took only minutes for the humans to realize that setting anything in front of Jacob, meant that it would not reach anyone else at the table.

During a short interlude, when Jacobs mouth was nearly empty, he put in his two-cents. "We need to discus the issue of the attack on the truck."

"What attack?" Connie looked around at the faces of those at the table.

Everyone looked a little bit guilty, but Tony simply looked at his plate and continued eating, as if the topic had not been brought up. Hearing that the discussion had changed, the rest of the

Cullens came in and took up the empty seats at the other end of the long table.

"Antony Micheal Gutierrez !" Connie straightened in her chair.

"It was nothing," he smiled at her. "Alice was in the truck with me and Jasper was running along side. When they saw the wolves, they worked together and killed them. A beautiful sight it was. The tiny Lady Alice ripping the head off that beast. The the way she and Jasper played with the other. I missed the rest of that one. I was too far away by then."

"If we're going to get this all on the table, then I need to tell you all something the werewolf said, before Alice joined me."

Edward straightened in his chair and grabbed Bella's hand and squeezed it.

" These werewolves have great control over their transformations. He only turned back to human enough to speak. He said," Jasper chose his words carefully, for the sake of the humans, but Edward already knew what the werewolf had really said. "next time they would be going for the girls. Both of them."

Every one at the entire table stopped what they were doing. As if on cue Nita and Renesmee came bounding down the stairs, laughing. Rose was right behind them. Nita ran to her parents and gave them both a huge hug, then sat down by them to eat dinner. Renesmee placed her hand on her father's face, and then her mother's. She grabbed each of their hands for a moment, then went to join Jacob.

"Perhaps the girls should eat upstairs," Connie suggested.

"No!" Jenna responded. "Nita is old enough to understand what is happening. She can feel the tension that we all feel. As for Remie, I refuse to call her Nessie. She, in no way, resembles a sea snake. But she knows what is happening. There is no sense in trying to hide it from her. She may as well hear it first hand, rather than pull it from you later."

Bella wasn't sure she agreed, but Jenna was right about one thing. If Renesmee wanted to know something, she would find a way to discover it. She had been found questioning Jacob, while he slept, just three nights ago, before they had come here.

"They obviously didn't know that we were here," Jasper spoke up. "Our interception at the truck was a complete surprise. That may be the only reason we were able to take them out so easily."

Jenna pushed her plate away from her and shook her head slowly. "I am so sorry," she lifted her head to look at the Cullens, and then settle on Bella. "It was never my intention to put you all in a position like this. We knew the werewolves were in Deeth, but up till now, we haven't had much trouble out of them."

"I thought that werewolves had been exterminated by Caius, several centuries ago," Esme added to the conversation, while she helped Connie clear away the dinner dishes and bring out the coffee and pie.

"Caius is an idiot,"Jenna spit out. "In some ways, he's worse than Aro. Both of them, punch drunk on their own self-importance." Jenna noticed the wide eyed stares from the Cullens. "What? Did you think I didn't know about the Volturi? The only decent one there is Marcus, and Aro has him tied in knots." Bella was still staring at her mother, wide eyed.

"Who are you?" Bella breathed quietly.

"I'm you mother, my dear Bells. And you have a lot to learn about yourself. It also sounds to me that you have been kept in the dark about a lot of things," Jenna looked at Edward.

He sat up straight and locked eyes with Jenna. He couldn't hold it though. There was something there that commanded respect and … Edward couldn't find the words to describe it. But, in terms Jacob would use; in any pack, she would be Alpha.

"As for the extinction of werewolves, Caius got almost all of them, worldwide. Unfortunately he missed a few of the most important ones. A couple of the strongest leaders."

"And you know this because...?" Rosalie spoke up.

"Because I've heard the story from them," Jenna responded. She looked over everyone then continued. "They had split up. One was in England, in hiding. But come full moon, he was in all kinds of trouble. The other was here. He had been living over in Utah. Calls himself a skin-walker. He's probably been there 300 to 400 years. He doesn't even remember. He spent most of his time as a wolf." Jenna sighed and shook her head slowly, "This pack may be some of his lot. He was working at breeding, rather than biting, to produce a new pack member."

"So he's been raping women for.." Jacob was ready to jump out of his seat.

"No!" Jenna slammed her fist on the table. "He married. Over and over he married. Three to four centuries is a long time to either be alone, or go through several mates." Jenna appeared to be lost in thought, for a few seconds. "He may have bred the gene until it mutated into what we have now, werewolves that can change at will."

"If we can get Carlisle back here with some testing equipment, and a good blood sample, maybe we can find out for sure." Alice suggested, while holding tight to Jasper's arm.

"I've got a fully equipped lab," Jenna announced. "Does Carlisle do DNA testing and research?"

"He has," Esme responded. "He's done some work, as to why vampires are able to handle sunlight now. What it is that has changed all vampires."

"Good," Jenna nodded her head. "Tomorrow we can start testing and see just what it is we are dealing with,"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Bella asked.

"What dear?" Jenna responded.

"The blood sample. Carlisle will need a subject to do the tests."

"Oh, that. I thought that a couple or three of us would do a raid on Deeth and bring one back." Jenna was smiling. "They do have patrols. It should be easy enough to trank one and bring him back to the lab. I'm fairly sure I have a cage that will hold one. And that was the end of that.

Edward, Jasper and Jenna would leave at about midnight to capture a werewolf. Tony and Bill would check on the confinement cell and reinforce it, if needed. Everyone else would stay at the house with the girls. Rose, Esme, and Bella would do rounds to make sure the girls remained safe. Connie, who was very good at handling a gun, would be sleeping in the girl's room. Bill and Tony would stay in one or the lower floors of the house. They had decided that they would take turns sleeping.

The three found what they were looking for, at about 2AM. They had left on time, at midnight, but finding a lone target wasn't as easy as they had expected. When they did find one, they had to work fast. Jenna tranked the unsuspecting man, and the three fell on him and had him bound and gagged before the anesthetic had time to take effect. Jenna was thrilled that they had their unwilling guest bound, home and confined by 3:30AM. She smiled as she waved goodnight to the Cullens and went to her room to get some sleep.

"She's good" Edward commented to Bella, as soon as he found her on her rounds.

"I hope so," Bella responded as she leaned into him. "We're trusting the life of our daughter, on her ability to lead."

Edward held Bella tight as he looked out into the quiet desert night. He listened to the minds of those around the house. Both girls were excited about going out to help with the horses in a couple hours. Everyone else was worried about the safety of the children, except for Jasper, Jacob and Jenna. Jasper , after seeing Deeth, was mentally working on battle plans. 'Always the soldier' Edward thought to himself and gave a small crooked smile. Jacob was dreaming of pulling the heads from wolves that dared to threaten his Renesmee. This was OK with Edward, since he felt the same way. Jenna, Edward could not read. He was barely able to register her existence, but that was OK too. They all wanted the same thing; a safe place for themselves and their children. Edward thought about how it all might turn out, and came up empty. Alice was getting nothing.

Bella snuggled closer to Edward, as if she wanted to join him in his skin. He held her tighter, while she worked to open up to him. When her shield finally came down enough, Edward was flooded with a feeling of overpowering love. He moaned and buried his head into Bella's neck. "It will be alright," he told her. "I promise." But it was to late. Bella's shield surrounded them both, and the emotions she poured through him left him little choice. He grabbed her up, in his arms and began to run west, just a mile or two. Edward found a patch of grass to lay his wife on. As the night slowly disappeared, Edward did everything he could to rid Bella of all her feelings of inadequacy and fears for him and their daughter. It worked for the most part. By the time the sun began to rise, they both began to accept what was happening and the fact that they had to see it through. Today would be another day of revelations. And they were both ready for it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books**

**HOME BY TWILIGHT**

**Chapter 7**

Bella, Connie and Esme had the supplies ready in record time. Edward, Jacob, Tony and Bill had everything loaded on the truck shortly after. Rosalie and Alice made sure the girls were ready for the day.

"I'm staying here at the house," Jacob announced. " I want to make sure that no one tampers with anything, while you're all gone."

"Good idea," Edward said. "Do you want Emmett to come back?"

"No. He'll want to keep watch over all of you. Especially with me here," Jacob gave Edward a look and thought to him, "Emmett was pretty angry about the horses, and the blood got to him, but not in a … feeding way."

Edward told Jacob, "Several of us were raised in the era of the horse. Cars or 'horseless carriages' were just becoming common. To see such waste, such...unnecessary carnage, is difficult for any one to bare. But for us, ... these are not food animals for us, they are..."

"Things of beauty," Rosalie interrupted Edward. "I was turned much later, but there were still a lot of horses in use around town." Rose paused and smiled sadly, "I always had a carrot for the milk cart horse." For a long moment she shook her head sadly. Then she gazed up at the map on the wall.

"Emmett looks at the map a lot," Alice chimed in. "what do you think he's looking for?"

"I don't know what he's looking for." and Rosalie ended that line of questioning. "Are we ready?"

Renesmee, in the truck bed, placed her hand on Jacobs cheek, and sent him her own good-bye, while the others ran, or rode along with the vehicles. This time they stayed together, only traveling as fast as the truck could go. Once again Alice was in the cab of the truck next to Tony. Bill, the driver of the Jeep, had Jenna in the passenger seat. Jasper ran point, making sure there were no surprises. Esme rode in the back of the pick-up with Renesmee. Bella ran along the driver's side of the Jeep, and Rosalie ran along the driver's side of the truck. Edward brought up the rear, making sure that nothing tried to creep up on the small caravan.

It took more time, but they finally reached the canyon. Edward stopped at the top of the cliff to talk to Emmett, and bring him up to date. Jenna, Bella and Esme found out how the night had gone, medically, from Carlile. Jasper and the rest of the crew unloaded the truck and set up a work station near the mouth of the canyon.  
"It's time you learn a little," Jenna took Bella by the hand and led her to the nearest horse. "Place your hands here and here," and she pulled Bella's right hand up to the horses neck, and her left on the horses cheek bone. "She'll drop her head and you place your forehead against her face," and Bella complied.

"Do you feel it?" Jenna asked quietly.

"I feel her heartbeat, the blood rushing..." Bella was puzzled. "What should I be feeling?"

"You have to drop your shield. Envelop her in it with you," Jenna's voice was enticing, willing Bella to follow her instructions. For the first time in her life, Bella felt as though she were being glammered. Bella worked to comply with her mother's wishes.

"I feel … OH MY GOD!" Tears flowed from Bella's eyes. "The pain! I feel her pain … I feel it here," and her mind went to the closest wound on the trembling mare. "I see it … I can …," and Bella began to heal the wound from the inside out. When the wound was completely healed, Bella found another, then another, until the mare was completely healed. When she was done she dropped to the ground, exhausted. Edward and Carlile were at her side before anyone else could see what had happened.

Edward reached for Bella's face. He touched the tear that was slowly flowing down her cheek. He examined it on his fingertip, then turned on Jenna.

"What have you done to her?" Edward demanded through clenched teeth. He had not wanted to attack a human like this, since the first day he met Bella. This time though, it was out of anger. "We don't cry! We have no tears!" He was slowly backing Jenna away from Bella.

"You forget, VAMPIRE, she is MY daughter. She has abilities you can only dream of," and Jenna began to back Edward toward Bella, until she was able to reach out and grasp his hand.

"It's OK, Edward," Bella whispered, as the mare galloped away to the spring and the bucket of oats and corn that Tony and Bill were offering each horse. "I'm OK. Really."

Edward knelt down next to Bella. He studied her for a moment, then picked her up in his arms and carried her to the truck. He studied her again. The tears had stopped and she seemed to be alright.

"Really, Edward," Bella began, "It was the most miraculous thing I have ever felt." Bella put her arms around Edward's neck and opened up her shield again. She shared with him, the feeling of the horse, and the healing. When she was done, Edward was shaken and stumbled back. It took him a moment to regain his equilibrium. When he did, all he could do was stare, wide-eyed, at Bella.

"You did that?" Edward collected himself enough to ask her.

"I did that." Bella was proud of herself for the healing she had done, and was anxious to do it again.

"Is there anything she should know about this ability?" Edward asked Jenna, over his shoulder.

"She needs to go slowly, until she gains more control," Jenna informed the two, as she approached. "All wounds do not have to be healed completely, for the animal to be able to function. As a vampire, she will regain her energy faster, but it will still drain her to some extent," Jenna now stood next to Edward. "You will have to hunt tonight. To replenish your reserves." She couldn't help but grin at Bella, "but for your first time, you did an amazing job." And they all watched as the mare Bella had healed, raced with the new herd stallion, down the canyon.

"I did that," Bella whispered almost silently, but Edward still heard her.

"Still a lot of work to do," Jenna yelled for all to hear. "Let's get with it"

Edward held his hand out for Bella. "I'll be keeping my eye on you," he informed her

"Not a bad idea," Jenna smiled at the two. And they went in different directions and began to check, heal and feed the mustangs.

The humans took a break to eat lunch at about noon. Renesmee and Nita helped Connie set out the sandwiches, then Nita watched the coffee and soup at the fire while Renesmee got out the plastic bowls and spoons. Lunch went fast, and everyone was soon back to work. The girls cleaned up the lunch supplies and packed everything back into the truck. When they were done, they found they had some free time to themselves.

"Jacob sure is cute," Nita told Renesmee.  
"When I'm older, we're going to get married," Renesmee replied matter-of-factly.

Nita giggled at her, "Isn't he a little old?"

Renesmee stopped and looked down at the ground. "I won't age the same as you," she told Nita.

"I heard something about that," Nita replied, "but it didn't make any sense."

"I'm two years old," Renesmee told her friend. "In September I'll be three."

"But you look and act like you're close to my age!" Nita was incredulous. "Next year you won't be my friend, will you?" Nita looked at the ground and kicked away a stone with her boot.

"I will always be your friend," Renesmee told her friend. "I'll just he older than you, instead of younger," but she was looking down at the ground as well. "But," Renesmee looked up with a big smile on her face, "we still got this year."

Nita looked up at her friend's smile and grinned herself. "You bet," and she took off running across the canyon. "Want to meet Drifter?" Nita called to Renesmee, who was pretending to have trouble keeping up.

"You bet," she yelled back, and ran to catch up with her friend.

Rosalie was helping Carlile, and watching the girls. She was proud of the way that Renesmee took her role as a friend. She even felt a twinge of jealously as the two girls climbed up on the back of the stallion, and rode bareback around the canyon. She smiled a genuinely large smile as the girls waved their arms and howled at the joy of riding the big horse.

Emmett, from his post at the top of the cliff, watched Rosalie and felt his chest swell, as his wife took joy in the antics of the two girls. He had never seen Rose so happy. He would do anything it took, to make sure nothing interfered with her happiness. Emmett thought about it for a minute. The horses should be good to go, as of tonight. He would have to talk to Carlile about him and Rosalie getting some time away tonight. Emmett smiled and gave his thigh a mild slap. Rosalie looked up at the familiar sound. It had been too many years since they had all enjoyed themselves out in the sun like this. The feeling of joy and freedom was becoming contagious. Soon all the Cullens were laughing and smiling while they worked.

They were finished before they realized it. All the horses were healed and headed out to better grazing lands. The truck had been reloaded and they were all ready to head back to the house. Jenna was pleased to see that they would make it back to the house by twilight, and gave the order to fire up the convoy. Once out of the canyon, Rose and Emmett split off the main group and headed west, smiling and laughing as they ran. Bella and Edward waited until they were in view of the house, and Edward could hear Jacob and was assured that there had been no problems. He and Bella said their good-byes and headed north for the mountain lion problem.

It was a quiet night at home, for Jenna and her guests. Jasper and Alice had planned to hunt, when Edward and Bella returned. No one expected to see Rose or Emmett, at least until morning. Esme and Carlile would hunt after Jasper and Alice returned. Jasper had already worked out a patrol schedule. Every one hoped for a quiet night. Jenna discussed the plans to have Carlile examine the DNA of the werewolf in captivity. They agreed to begin in the morning, once everyone was back.


	8. Chapter 8

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**Home by Twilight**

**Chapter 8**

"Jenna," Tony caught her attention as she came down the stairs, and rounded the corner to the dinning room, for breakfast. "Did you catch the news this morning?"

"No," Jenna said as she grabbed a plate and began serving herself from the mounds of food in front of her. Connie had greatly increased the amount of food cooked, since Jacobs arrival.

"Some earthquake activity west of here last night." Tony announced.

"Earthquake," Jacob had come in, in the middle of the conversation. His nose had finally gotten the better of him. He grabbed the pancake plate and began pouring syrup on it. "You guys get earthquakes 'round here?"

"Not very often," Bill told Jacob. Edward and Bella had just joined the group to listen to the morning discussions. "This one was over near McCarty spring," Bill finished. Jacob began to choke as Edward and Bella burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Tony asked as the rest of the Cullen's all appeared in the room, either grinning or laughing. All but Rosalie and Emmett.

"Tony," Bella started, "You be sure to tell Rose and Emmett about this, when they get back." and Bella couldn't stop grinning.

"Tell Rose and Emmett what?" Emmett asked as they came to a screeching halt, just before they entered the front door.

"I don't know what's so funny," Tony looked around the room with a serious eye. "It was just a good thing no one was around to get hurt."

"Get hurt by what?" Rosalie asked as she took a seat next to Jacob, who refused to lift his head to look at either one of them.

"Earthquake centered around McCarty spring, west of here," Tony finished. Again he looked around and watched the Cullen's and now even Jenna, try to keep from going into spasms of outrageous laughter.

"I'm sorry for my families reaction to something you consider quite serious," Carlisle started. "But have you met my son, Emmett McCarty Cullen?"

Emmett was smiling so broadly that Rosalie was embarrassed. She got out or her chair , slapped Emmett on the leg with a sharp smacking sound, and proudly left the room with a resounding "Men!" and a small smile on her face.

"Ouch," Tony cringed at the sound. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Only when she smacks me up against a mountain," Emmett replied with a huge grin.

Tony finally got the joke and began laughing with the others.

Breakfast finished on a happy note, as those gathered began to separate into groups for the day's activities.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked. "Will you give me a hand in the lab?"

Edward gave Bella a kiss and went to join his father. Esme and Connie had already began to clear away the breakfast dishes, when Jacob peeked his head around the corner of the kitchen door.

"Esme?" he asked tentatively, "I thought that … under the circumstances, that a couple friends of mine might come in handy."

"That's really not a bad idea, Jacob," Esme smiled at him. "You should ..." and Esme gave Jacob a sly look. "Jacob," she started sweetly, "what did you do?"

"Well, they're 'running' down here now," he announced with a wide grin. "They should be here by lunch."

Esme turned away from the sink to stare at Jacob. "How many!" she demanded.

"Just my four," and Jacob ran for the front door, and was wolf and gone before Connie could turn around to see what all the excitement was about.

"Jacob Black!" Esme called from the front door. "You just remember, I know just about where you sleep," and she returned to the kitchen to give Connie the bad news. "Rose … Alice," she called as she went.

"What is wrong?" Connie was concerned for her hew friends.

"You bellowed," Rose said, as she and Alice appeared in the kitchen at the same time.

"Jacob has invited four of his friends to come and help," Esma told them all. Then to Connie, who still did not understand the problem. "Four just like Jacob," Esme told her. "For lunch."

Connie sat down hard, on the closest chair, "Oh my!" As the gravity of the situation began to sink in, Connie took control of the situation and began to make adjustments. In less time than Esme and her daughters had the kitchen cleaned and everything put away, Connie had more beef being brought up from the smokehouse, as well as huge quantities of staples. In no time at all, she had Esme, Rose and Alice organized and cooking for the growing number of guests. To all their amazement, she opened a partition and revealed a second kitchen, complete with sink, and three ovens.

Jasper and Emmett, hearing the excitement of the soon to be arrivals, ran out to pick up Jacob and meet the four. They had ideas of their own, on how to help the situation. With everyone gone or doing required chores, Jenna took Bella by the arm, and they disappeared first into the front room.

"Before we go to far," Jenna told Bella, "you should call your mom and dad." She handed Bella the phone, then gave her the privacy to use it.

Bella punched the number she wanted and listened while it rang. "Mom?" Bella wasn't sure how her mom would take the news.

"Bella," Renee responded. "I thought you'd never call."

"It's been a little busy here, mom."

"I imagine so. So … what do you think of your real mom?" Bella didn't know what she was expecting, but this wasn't it.

"It's Aunt Jenna," Bella responded in a whisper. She heard the laughter from the other end of the line, and was completely surprised.

"I know honey," Renee got out. "I've always known. Jenna wanted me to know that she never intended to take you away, so we thought it would be best to just have her in your life, all through your life."

"But dad said..."

"Oh honey," Renee started, "God love him, but he is just a man. He couldn't possibly be expected to understand an arrangement made between two women. Jenna is your mother. I will always be your mom."

"He said that you were too fragile ..."

"He was probably right. But that was then. Enjoy yourself, OK?"

Bella talked to her mom for a few minutes more, then she called her dad. She told him that she was having a wonderful time, that she still loved him and he would always be her dad, and that she wasn't sure how much longer she would be. When she finally hung up the phone, Jenna was waiting for her. She led her to the basement of the house.

"This is where I hide most of my past," she announced to Bella.

"Hide?"

Jenna shrugged. "Seems a fitting term."

Bella looked around the huge room. There were shelves on every wall, and the shelves were full of all sorts of objects. Bella reached out for a statue of a rearing horse. It was heavy, and looked as if it were made from black marble, but there was not a single straight line on it. She held it up for Jenna to see, with a question in her eyes.

"Drifter, my stallion." There was a small table and a couple chairs in the middle of the room. Jenna took the statue and set it on the middle of the table, then sat down and motioned for Bella to join her. "Soon after I … acquired this property, I was out riding the area to check it all out. I found a small herd of mustangs that had been run off a cliff. Probably a bunch of kids from Lamoille or Spring Creek. Most were dead. Others had to be put down, to many broken legs and backs for me to take care of. I did find a mare, just barely alive, and in labor. By the time I got to her, she was breathing her last breaths, but he foal was still fighting. I used my knife and cut him out of her. I wasn't sure he would survive, but I wrapped him up in a blanket and brought him back here.

'Of course none of this was here then. I just had a small trailer. Drifter lived with me, in the trailer, for about four months, until he simply got to big for it. To this day, he will still try to follow me into the house at times." Jenna and Bella both gave a short laugh, then Jenna went to a shelf and put the statue back. She brought back a large, flat, ornate wood box, and a bottle of wine and one glass. "Would you like some?" she asked Bella. Bella shook her head.

"This will be your's someday," Jenna turned the box toward Bella. "Go ahead, take a look."

Bella opened the box and her eyes widened. "They're beautiful," she breathed. Inside the box was a necklace with matching earrings. "Diamonds?" Bella picked up the large necklace carefully. "It looks like it was made for a queen."

"It was," Jenna finished one glass of wine, and poured another. "They were a gift. Not from your father, but from someone I cared for deeply." Jenna took a long drink. "He came before I met your father." Jenna closed her eyes and began the story of her life.

"I was married when I was a teenager, like you. But, unlike you, he didn't really love me. He was a drunk, and one day his drunk driving killed us both." Jenna gave a small chuckle. "Well … almost. I spent almost a year either in the hospital, or having surgeries. Then, one day it all changed. I began to realize that I could do things. I had to be careful to not draw attention to myself. I was a big enough freak just for surviving. When I was well enough, I took off. I ended up here, in these mountains. I worked at discovering and honing my new skills. I did a very good job. Almost too good. I decided to go to Vegas and make a little money. Once again being careful not to draw attention to myself by winning too much at any one casino. It all worked out pretty well, until one day the security chief at one on my favorite places, had his team surround me. They 'invited' me to meet the owner.

'Sylvester turned out to be a very sweet man. He knew I was doing something, he just didn't know what. Anyway he offered me a penthouse suite next to his, on the top floor, as long as I would stop gambling at his casino. It worked out very well, and we became great friends. I suppose if I were to ever find out who my real father was, I would wish he was just like Sylvester.

"Anyway, he got himself into a … situation." Jenna shifted in her chair. "A rather delicate situation. You see, every once in a great while, Sylvester would do a 'favor' for the State Department. I accidentally got drawn into the middle of things, largely because I can't seem to stay out of other peoples business. I saw a friend in trouble, and went charging in, guns drawn you might say. I succeeded in getting Sylvester out, but I got myself into a bit of a tangle at the same time. Some of my secrets got out. Just a couple, but enough that they were able to get a handle on me."

"Who?" Bella asked quietly.

"The government of course. OUR government. I had to make a deal with them, to keep any amount of freedom. The deal was pretty simple. I would do ten suicide missions for them, and they would pay me an obscene amount of money, and this land. But after the ten were done, I was done. I was over half way through when I got pregnant with you. I was afraid that they would take you, experiment on you, to find out how I worked. Being there when your mom and dad were at the hospital was pure luck. I'm sorry they lost their child. At the same time, I'm glad they did. You were given the chance at a normal childhood, because of it. I knew that Charlie and Renee wouldn't stay together. But I also saw that they would be good parents."

"How did you end up there at that time?"

"Believe it or not, I was dropped out of a helicopter off Cape Alava. There had been a boat capsize that same night. It all just worked out perfectly."

"You got lucky," Bella told her mother

"No Bella, you got lucky. You got parents that love you. I never had to worry about you. And you avoided the orphanages, and foster homes." Jenna finished her second glass of wine, then directed Bella to a block of marble on a shelf behind her. Bella picked up the heavy six inch square block of white marble. "There's a smaller piece next to where this one was," Jenna told Bella. "Get that one for yourself." Bella did as asked. "Now, it's time to learn something useful," and Jenna grinned at Bella. "The statue of Drifter," Bella looked at the marble statue on the shelf, then back to Jenna. "I made that, and I'm going to teach you how to do it yourself." There was a commotion coming from upstairs that consumed both their attentions. "After lunch."

Bella and Jenna raced up the stairs to find out what the problem was. Bella smelled the blood, before Jenna opened the basement door. Most of Jacobs pack, along with Emmet and Jasper, were surrounding a figure on the dining room table. Jenna cleared a path and began to examine Embry. After checking his wounds quickly she turned to Jacob.

"Bella, would you please get started here. I'll help in just a moment. Bleeders first, please." Bella placed her hands on Embry, one on his chest, the other on his forehead. "Good positioning," Jenna commented. "Jacob, would you care to explain?"

"It was my fault," Jasper spoke up. "I thought that it would help to have a better idea of what we were dealing with, if Jacob's pack could do a little reconnaissance, in Deeth. We were discovered. Embry was injured in the escape."

"Did you gain any information that was worth his life?" Jenna asked. "We needed to wait a while for things to calm down, after our raid the other night. They're still on high alert from having a pack member of their own go missing."

Jasper hung his head, "of course, you are right. We should simply have had the wolves remain in hiding until a more opportune time."

"Nothing to be done about it. Jacob, take your friends upstairs and let them clean up. You will find clothes in the spare room, last door on the left," then Jenna turned her attention to Embry. Together, mother and daughter worked to save the shifter. In less time than it took for the first of the pack to shower and change, Embry was sitting at the newly scrubbed table and eating a large lunch.

"You got to check this out!" Embry was excited as Leah, the first down the stairs, came around the corner. "This is some good food," he continued with a full mouth.

Connie and crew had begun serving lunch. The humans rushed in hoping to get something to eat, before the wolves ate it all, but Connie had been warned and she was ready for them all. She even supplied Embry with a few extras to help with his blood loss. Everyone was able to find a place at the table, even those that didn't eat. Renesmee and Nita decided to take their plates to Nita's room, so they didn't interfere with the adult conversations.

"I don't think I've ever seen Nita so happy," Tony commented. "Thank you, Bella … Edward, for having such a delightful daughter." Bella looked at Edward and smiled.

"Testing is coming along," Carlisle informed Jenna. "We won't have anything to go on, until tomorrow morning. The … subject is remaining calm, and only threatens to rip off our limbs about once an hour now." Everyone at the table began to giggle or laugh.

"Jacob has invited the rest of his pack, in case backup is needed, should more problems arise." Jenna rose and lifted her water glass to her newest guests. "Embry is healed, but will need to take it easy while his body replenishes the lost blood."

"What happened to Embry?" Carlisle asked.

"We a …" Jasper started, "I thought that, with them just coming in, the werewolves wouldn't know that they existed. So we, Emmett and I, ran out to meet them. We made a quick run by Deeth, to see what we could find out."

"They were ready for us," Emmett continued for Jasper. "We spotted about eleven of the filthy beasts."

"We're wolves too," Leah had been doing better about speaking her mind. She had truly blossomed, as Jacobs second.

"You didn't see what they did," Jacob told her. "I'll fill you all in, after lunch."

"There was no one we could mark as the Alpha," Quill spoke up.

"Well, I'm glad you were able to get Embry here in time. The one piece of information we do need is just who is their Alpha." Jenna announced. "But we'll save that for another night. Everyone, please relax for the night. I'm sure that there are enough of us here, to protect the house, and the girls."

Lunch broke up then. Welcomes and catching up conversations kept the group buzzing for a while. Jenna was finally able to grab Bella and drag her back to the basement.

"Time to finish what we started earlier." Jenna and Bella sat back down in their chairs. "You have to get the image straight, in your head, before you start."Jenna picked up her piece of white marble. "You have to try to see into it's core." Bella picked up her piece of white marble and held it at eye level. "Try to see what shape is in it. Turn it anyway you want. But some where in the stone you will find an image that has meaning for you."

There was silence for a long time. Bella turned the stone in circles before she rolled it so it stood with only one corner toward the table. "I have it," she smiled at Jenna.

"Good. Now you have to remove what you don't need. Simply think about it slowly peeling away. Shape the stone by removing or moving it. Once a piece has has been removed from the stone, it can not be replaced. Watch."

Bella watched as Jenna began to modify her piece of marble. She removed large pieces, and moved others to flesh out the piece. Bella went back to work on her piece, trying to do what Jenna had done. Together they worked, each on their own work of art. Bella's work was slow going, but Jenna supported her the entire afternoon and evening. Bella had not even noticed that Jenna had finished her piece, when Esme was calling everyone to dinner.

"I want to finish this, before I come up," Bella told Jenna. I'm almost done."

"OK," and Jenna left Bella to finish. She took her piece upstairs with her, and left it on a low table, near her seat at the table. "Bella will join us soon," she nodded to Edward. "She has something she wants to finish." And the humans, and half humans, began to eat with a vengeance. The conversation was mixed, as tactics began to consume the minds of several of those seated at the table. Bella was hardly noticed as she took her seat next to Edward. Alice was across the table from her.

"Alice?" Bella began, "You're my best friend. When Jenna gave me this piece of stone, it took me a while to see what was in it. But I finally found it, and it was you." Bella handed Alice the white marble piece she had spent all afternoon working on. It was a ballerina, about four inches high. "She can stand on her toe," and Bella showed Alice how to stand the tiny statue. "It's you."

Alice picked up the tiny ballerina and studied it's face. "It is me!" Alice was amazed at the resemblance. "Oh, Bella," and Alice held the white marble dancer carefully.

"A beautiful piece," Jenna told Bella. "Very well done. I have made one for you." Jenna got up and walked her piece around the table to Bella. She set the larger piece of white marble on the table in front of her. Bella's eyes wanted to cry, for the beauty and memory of the day that had inspired the piece.

"It's me," she stated, "Healing the mare."


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry this chapter took so long. I was having some problems with my hands again. I hope everyone enjoys it.

* * *

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**Home by Twilight**

**Chapter 9**

After dinner, Bella and Edward went out on the large porch, where Edward explained to Bella what he had been doing all day. They walked around the house and talked about the events of the last few days. Later, after a half-moon appeared in the night sky, Bella took her marble statue up to their room and placed it on the dressing table.

"It really does look like you," Edward commented. "She even got the tear. How did she do it?"

Bella had picked up a stone during their walk around the house. She had planned on practicing with it. She placed the stone in the palm of her hand, and turned it until she saw what she needed to do. "Now watch," she had told Edward, and she began to shape the stone into the form she had seen in it. Within the stone was a narrow band of gold. As she shaped it, she brought out that crooked band of gold and polished the surface of the common stone. Before she handed it to Edward, she bored a small hole through the middle of the top.

"For my love," she said as she offered the stone heart to Edward. "It's not a diamond, but it was made with love and sealed with gold."

Edward had gently taken the stone from her, and placed it next to the marble sculpture. He picked Bella up in his arms, kissing her neck and working his way to her lips, he laid her on the bed. "No earthquakes tonight," he said, smiling down at her. "Got that shield warmed up?"

Bella and Jenna were back in the basement the next morning. Bella was excited to learn as much as she could, from this very strange woman.

"Will you tell me about my father?" Bella asked.

"I'll tell you as much as I can," Jenna looked sad as she began the story. "I was on a job; sent to get evidence to shut down a drug ring. Five DEA agents had already been killed. A couple more just disappeared. I got a lot farther than they did. I got the evidence, then got caught. The cell they kept me in was already occupied by four other men. They were half starved, and hadn't been close to a woman for a very long time. Your father was one of them." Bella closed her eyes as she dreaded what might come next. "I was taken out and beaten every day for about two weeks. Every time they brought me back, he tended my wounds, and shared his food, so I could heal at least a little. When I was unconscious or just sleeping, he kept the others away from me. It was a very bad situation, and he kept me alive and sane through it all. I grew to love him. After they stopped beating me all the time, I got stronger and we were finally able to break out. As hard as it was, we got the others out too. I was there about two months. When we made it back to the states, he and I planned to meet again after the excitement died down. I turned in the evidence I was sent for, and waited to hear from him. I never did. Shortly after that, I found out that I was pregnant with you. I searched for him for a while, then I had to go into hiding until you were born. I searched for him for years after that. I just never found him."

"You think they killed him? The government?"

"I don't know. I do know that four men were 'rescued' from a foreign prison, and nothing was ever said about it. And the men were never heard from again."

"I'm sorry," Bella told her mother quietly.

"They say you only get one true love. Mine was only for a couple months." Jenna looked at Bella. She reached her hand out and raised Bella's head. "And I got you out of the deal. I'd say I made out OK. Whether you know it or not, I watched you grow up. I may not have gotten all the details, but I saw a lot more than you know." They smiled at each other for a while, then Jenna broke the silence. "Have you taken a good look at the walls of this room?" Jenna asked Bella, who shook her head. "Go ahead, take a good look. Feel the walls. Even the floor."

Bella got up and felt the walls behind the shelves. She felt the rock of the door frame and the floor. "You built this!" Bella was amazed at the smoothness of the granite basement.

"My first house here, was a hole in the mountain. I exercised my skills by moving and compacting tons of granite. Now, you are going to learn to move heavy objects, but not here." Jenna smiled at Bella. "Have you ever ridden a horse?"

"No."

"Would you like to learn?"

"I can run."

"Sometimes it's not a matter of what you can do. It's a matter of what is more enjoyable. I can run almost as fast as you. I can also get to a place, any place, long before you; but we'll save that for another day. It is my preference to enjoy the trip, and ride."

Bella thought about it while they walked out of the house. "OK," she surrendered. "I'll give it a try." There were two horses waiting for them. Jenna told Bella about some of the basics and helped her mount her horse.

"Just remember one thing, trust your horse. These animals were born here in these mountains. They know the terrain, and they know the dangers," and Jenna took the lead.

Bella was nervous, and the horse seemed to feel it. Why she felt so nervous, she didn't know. It would have been so easy to simply jump off the horse, but she wanted to learn everything her mother had to teach her. Even to ride a horse. After an hour of riding, Bella began to relax. After two hours, she began to feel confident enough to look around her, and really see the beauty these mountains had. She was able to see the hole in the mountain, the name of the closest mountain to her mother's place. As they rode on for another hour, Bella saw the variety that her mother's property had to offer. The desert below the area where the house was. The grasslands, the tree line, and the high mountain cliffs. She began to understand what Jenna was trying to tell her. The ride was far more beautiful than the run would have been.

When they reached a small cabin, just inside the tree line, Jenna stopped. She helped Bella unsaddle the horses and put them in a small corral, near the cabin. Jenna made sure they had grain, while Bella put the tack away in a wood box next to the corral.

"Your shield," Jenna started as they walked into the cabin, "and thank you for using it last night, the ability to reform stone; these things are connected." Jenna started a fire in the old wood stove, and set a pot of coffee to boil. "You are altering the molecular composition of something. It can be a piece of wood, a stone, granite, or the air itself." Bella looked doubtful. "You see the shield, when you make it?" Jenna asked. "It becomes a shimmery form in front of you?"

"Yes," Bella was surprised. "How ..."

"I have something similar. Not near as powerful as yours, but it suffices." Jenna checked to make sure her cup was clean, and poured herself some coffee. In some cases we, you and I, are actually altering the frequency of energy." Jenna looked at Bella's face and smiled. "You'll have plenty of time to learn. For people like you and me, life is a very long thing."

"How old are you?" Bella had to ask.

"I was born in October 14, 1928. I'm 82 years old, and I haven't aged since the first time I died, in 1953. I was 25."

Bella looked down at the floor, then she began to smile. Finally a small giggle escaped.

"Just what is it you find so funny!" Jenna demanded to know, with a slight curl to one side of her mouth.

"My husband is older than my mother," Bella burst our laughing. Jenna soon joined her.

"For that, young lady, I'm going to have to work you very hard today," Jenna tried to be stern, but failed miserably. "Come on silly," and she grabbed Bella's hand and showed her how to find the cave behind the fireplace.

Bella followed Jenna down a long hallway that she was sure Jenna had made. The walls and floor were as smooth as the basement of the house. As the hall turned upward, lights began to appear on the walls. The hall emptied out to a large open room. It looked as though it was only half done.

"I actually have a design," Jenna told Bella, as she search through some gear she had against the wall, near the entryway. "It's really just a drawing," and she showed Bella as she made light appear from the walls.

Bella looked around herself, amazed. "The walls themselves are giving off light?"

"Something I've been working on for years. Finally get it to work last month. I had to alter the molecular structure of the granite to include and allow a phosphorescent compound to interact with the air." Bella's eyes appeared to glaze over and Jenna had to laugh. "OK, OK I give up. Today we're going to learn to move and remodel substances on a much larger scale. I'm also hoping to teach you to handle more then one item at a time. You never know when you may need to hold one thing in place while you move another."

Bella and Jenna worked through the day. When they had a chance, when Bella's concentration wasn't being taxed with juggling one-ton boulders, they talked. But after several hours of working, it was time to return to the house. The ride back was much more enjoyable for both mother and daughter. Bella was relaxed and they were able to ride side by side and talk, when the trail allowed it. It was full dark, when they arrived, laughing, in front of the house. A large fire was going in the front yard. Chairs had been brought out and Dinner was being cooked over the fire. Tony ran to meet them and take the horses. Edward was there to help Jenna down, and then Bella.

"He is quite the gentleman," Jenna commented.

"That he is," Bella replied, and molded herself to her husband.

"I missed you," Edward said, looking into her eyes.

"Same here," Bella responded as she wrapped her arms tighter around Edward's neck and tangled her fingers in his hair. "See what I learned today," and Bella levitated until she was eye level with Edward. Gripping him even tighter, she kissed him.

"Not a good idea," Jenna warned her, with a broad smile.

Bella was lost in the kiss. Her legs, no longer needed to support her weight, began to inch their way up Edward's legs. Her knees had just reached his hips when she suddenly found herself flat on her behind, with Edward pulled over, looking down at her.

"Remember what I said about concentration?" Jenna began to chuckle.

Bella looked sheepishly at Edward, "Sorry."

"Amazing," was all Edward could come up with, as he picked Bella up off the ground and carried her to the fire. He kissed her as he went, and placed her gently in a chair, then took a seat next to her.

"We were just getting ready to discus the test results, "Carlisle informed Jenna. She gave a nod, and Carlisle began. "First off, the test subject..."

"The soon to be dead wolf," Jacob broke in with a growl.

"... is alive and well," Carlisle continued, ignoring Jacob's comment. "It does look like the ability to change at will, has become a hereditary trait. The genes of this subject, at least, are definitely from birth, and not acquired through claw or fang, as was required in the past. Whether this was in response to their near extermination, as a survival trait, or through some breeding program that someone has created, they are still werewolves, not shifters. We were also able to discover that they are able to maintain some primitive memory of their human self. This enables them to understand and carry out simple orders. If they have been sent to do a job, and something gets in the way, they have to return, at least partially, to human form, to deal with the change in plan. They do not appear to have the ability to remain in contact with others of their pack. As for questioning the man, he refuses to talk, and Edward has not been able to get anything from him."

"OK," Jenna thought for a moment. "We need to find out who the Alpha is, and why they've decided to choose me to annoy. I'll go to Deeth tonight and see what I can find out. We'll turn the test subject loose, and I'll follow him."

"I'm going with you," Bella told Jenna.

"No you're not," Jenna stood up and looked at her. "You'll want to go, then Edward will want to go, to protect you. Then Emmett will feel the need to go, to protect Edward. Next thing you know, everybody will be there. No, just me." Jenna smiled down at Bella. "Trust me. I've done this before." Bella nodded to Jenna. "Now, I'm going to get some sleep. You can turn him loose at midnight," Jenna informed Carlisle. "I'll be ready."

Jacob carried a sleeping Renesmee inside and up to her bed. Tony, with Nita, was right behind him. The other humans said their good nights and disappeared. Bella began to turn the dust at her feet. She slowly twirled it up into a solid form, then heated it until it was clear glass. Edward studied Bella, as she worked. The ease with which she now created these works of art, mystified him. Alice and Rose moved closer to see what Bella would create this time.

"It's Charlie," Alice proclaimed, as she captured the glass bust when Bella had finished. "It's so beautiful." She smiled at Bella.

"When you said that she was special, worth dying for, you had no idea did you bud?" Emmett gave Edward a pat on the back and grabbed Rose. "Want to go make some earthquakes lover?"

Rosalie smiled and jumped up to give Emmett a kiss. They were gone to the east before anyone could say goodnight.

Edward watched his brother and sister until they were out of sight. Then he watched the sky, looking at the stares. Jasper finally broke the silence.

"We'll need to keep an eye on the house when Carlisle turns him loose," Jasper warned those left at the fire. "He may decide that it would be a good idea to go for the girls, before going back to Deeth."

"Emmett may be back by then," Edward said. "It's not like him to miss a possible fight. And speaking of fights, where's the rest of the pack?"

"I hope the son of a bitch tries," Jacob had returned from the house. "After they ate, I had them all get some sleep. The run here was pretty rough. And I don't like Jenna going off on her own."

"What do you think you can do?" Bella asked them all. "Chances are that she's not just going to run after the guy. If I had more of her abilities, I'd probably turn myself into some kind of bird and follow him."

"A vulture has good eyesight over long distances. And won't be noticed." Jasper thought out the idea to it's natural conclusion, as he saw it.

Alice broke up the conversation this time. "Bella needs to hunt!" her pixie voice rang out. "Look at her."

Edward took a good look at Bella. As far as he was concerned, Bella's eyes were always beautiful, but they were almost never this dark. "Jenna must have really worked you hard today." Edward stood and offered his hand to Bella. "Shall we?" He smiled down at her. "We'll stay close."

Bella took his hand and smiled back at him, "We shall, and dear it is," and they were off like a shot.

"Guess that leaves you and me to keep an eye on things," Jasper smiled at Alice.

"Go on," Esme shook a towel at Alice and Jasper. Carlisle and I can keep watch. Just be back by eleven."

"We'll be close by," Jasper promised.

Alice jumped on his back, and whispered in his ear, "Let's go cowboy." And Jasper was off like the rest of the couples.

Jacob sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I'll get some sleep too." and he went into the house to change out of his clothes. Jacob/wolf soon emerged and went to a thick bush to the side of the front door. Once he felt that he was sufficiently covered he laid down, and fell asleep almost instantly.

Carlisle and Esme stood arm in arm by the fire. As they watched it slowly burn itself out, they listened to the sounds of the desert night, and the crackle of the fire. "The children may have a point," Esme whispered to Carlisle. "I don't think Edward and Bella will be gone long."

Carlisle looked at Esme, and patted her hand. "My dear wife," his smile broadened. "I thought you'd never ask." And they laughed together as they walked the perimeter of the house, knowing that everyone inside the house was safe.


	10. Chapter 10

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**Home by Twilight**

**Chapter 10**

The white head of the eagle turned to watch as Bill crossed the yard to the side door of the garage. She waited patiently for her prey to arrive, to run. "Soon," she crooned to herself. "Patience, just a few minutes more," she stood statue still as she waited.

"We are releasing you," Carlisle told the werewolf. "I would advise you not to take too long in leaving the property. I also advise against you returning. There are those here who are simply waiting for you to make a wrong turn."

"You act like you care, leech," he growled back.

"I prefer not to harm any intelligent being," Carlisle responded. "But if you return here, or make any attempt to harm the children here, I will take great pleasure in dusting you with silver and burning you alive."

Emmett looked at his father. It was very unlike Carlisle to threaten anyone; even werewolves. He grabbed the man out of the cage, and wrapped his arms around him, locking his arms to his sides. "And I advise you not to change," Emmett growled in his ear, "because nothing would give me greater pleasure than to pull your furry head off." Emmett turned the man so he could see his face. He smiled a big toothy smile and laughed, as he turned the man back around and headed him out the door. "Werewolf sandwiches anyone?" he yelled as he turned the man loose near where the camp fire had been earlier.

With nothing but embers left, anything close to the fire pit took on a slight red cast. The man walked closer to the embers. Looking more demonic than human, he darted looks in all directions. He began to see a semi-circle of humans and vampires closing in around him, with only one way left open to him. He laughed as he started ripping his clothes off. "They'll come … We'll come." He yelled and laughed louder. "He can't stop us forever."

His change into a wolf was excruciating to watch. It was slow, and painful. For a moment, Jacob almost felt sorry for him; almost. As this smaller, terrified wolf began to howl, Jacob/wolf stepped forward slowly, growling at the runt. The werewolf took one look at the huge alpha coming towards him and choked on his unsung howl. His hackles raised, he backed toward the opening in the circle. Jacob continued to walk forward, until suddenly the werewolf turned and ran. Jacob, ready for his move, growled at his heels for about a mile. He wanted to make sure that he stayed on course to Deeth, before he returned to the burned out fire, and his friends.

The eagle heard the whispers, but cared nothing for the words. All it meant to her, was that the prey would soon be here. She watched as the prey was pushed toward the fire. She watched with something close to amusement as it began to rip at it's clothing, and howl in pain as it changed into the form that would soon run from her. The form that would lead her to the place she was looking for. She spread her huge wings, as the prey took flight and began to lead her to it's home. She laughed to herself, an she watched the large wolf snap at the prey. "Silly little wolf must think the big wolf is slow. Silly little wolf," she screeched as she soared higher, but never lost sight of her prey.

The desert currents felt good under her wings. She soared higher, as her slow prey ran, not even knowing she was there. The prey was coming to the empty place. But he wasn't slowing down. She watched as another little wolf joined her prey. He was a little bigger, but still small. They finally stopped for a moment, and both became human. She circled lower to hear the words of the prey and his companion.

"He has to listen now. They got vamps there. And a wolf. A big fuckin' wolf."

"Hold on Pete." the new man tried to stop his pack mate from continuing to the place where their alpha stayed.. "Come back and tell Marty about it. He'll know what to do."

The eagle watched and heard as the new wolf seemed to be trying to convince the runt to do as he wished, not what he was suppose to do. Her anger was rising. The prey must continue to the place.

Both men heard the screech of the eagle high overhead. It seemed to break the bond that was forming between the two. The smaller man broke free from his pack mate. He turned back into the wolf and was running again. It was a long run for the little wolf, but he finally arrived at the ruins of Metropolis. There, near the school, the prey became man again and called to someone. The eagle glided down to settle on the highest of the ruins of the school. She watched the prey and the new human. She knew him. She screeched at the new human. She put all her anger into the screech. Then she spread her wings and screeched again.

"It's just an eagle," the runt told the pack alpha.

"Maybe," Cory watched the eagle take flight and head east. "And maybe not." He turned his attention back the the runt. "What the hell's going on that they felt the need to come to Deeth to capture one of us," Cory demanded.

"Well …," Pete stammered. "Marty got kind of tired of waiting around for you to decide what to do. So he took a few guys on a hunting trip."

Cory stretched to his full height of six foot 4 inches and looked down on Pete. "And what did he hunt?"

"Hor...hor..horses?" Pete shrank closer to the ground.

"And?"

"He … they got them about a dozen mustangs in a blind canyon,... between Tent mountain and Hole in the Wall. Had to kill the stallion right off."

"And?" Cory grew angrier.

"We … they shaved their hooves a bit, just so's we could all get a taste without chasing them clear 'cross the state."

Cory gave out a thunderous howl as he transformed into a wolf. He killed Pete on the spot, ripping his head from his body and tossing it to the side. He continued to relieve his rage on the werewolf, by ripping his chest open and taking his heart. Cory held the still beating heart in his mouth before he bit down on it, killing the werewolf forever. He threw the dead heart to the side, to join the head.

"Worthless piece of shit," Cory/wolf thought, as he headed for Deeth.

The eagle flew fast to the home place. "Tell the others," she thought to herself. "Kill them. Renegades. Inedible prey. All must die. Kill them … kill them..." the eagle repeated to herself.

When she finally arrived she soared into the large room and transformed as she landed. In moments, Jenna was dressed in jeans, flannel shirt and thick leather vest. She was pulling on her old 'combat boots' when Bill came up the stairs.

"Jenna?" he tested.

"Tell them to get ready," Jenna told him as she laced up the first boot. "We're going to war … now."

Bill disappeared down the stairs before she had completely finished talking. Jacobs pack and the Cullen's were in the front yard by the time Jenna joined them.

Jenna looked around at her friends. "You don't have to do this." Jenna started. "It's not your fight." No one moved. Jenna gave a small smile and a curt nod and began. "The werewolves at Deeth are part of Cory's line, but they have rebelled against him. He is probably on his way to kill them. I, we have to go and help." Jenna took a few steps closer to the group. "Make no mistake, all of the werewolves must be destroyed. Only one exception, that is Cory. You will know him because he is the largest and the oldest."

"Who is he?" Bella asked.

"Cory is Corin, brother to Caius of the Volturi."

"One of those that Caius missed," Carlisle commented.

Jenna nodded and made her way to the other side of the crowd. "Rose, Esme, Tony, Bill, stay here and protect the girls, just in case." They all nodded to her and took up positions in and around the house.

"Ready?" Jenna nodded and the rest of the group took off for Deeth. The pack took up positions between the vampires. They all spread out to form a crescent around Jenna, and a barrier to prevent the werewolves from escaping or getting past them to the house. They ran at Jenna's top speed. Edward knew that he could go faster, but this was Jenna's battle.

It was close to dawn before they reached Deeth. They could hear growls and howls of the werewolves being attacked. Jenna did not hesitate for a second. She leaped into the fray and began to throw werewolves out from the pile that had attacked Cory. As the others joined the fight, those flung aside were quickly dispatched. The fight didn't last long after the Quileute pack joined the fight. They took Jenna at her word and ripped off the heads of the lesser wolves and ripped out their hearts. Emmett and Jasper joined the wolves while most of the Cullens did all they could to keep Jenna from harm. They threw the werewolves to the pack, as Jenna had done. The fight lasted only minutes.

Before long, Jenna and Cory stood in the middle of the blood and bodies of the dead. Cory had changed to his human form. He stood naked, covered in the blood of his progeny. His eyes cast down as he watched all his hopes seep into the sands of the old ghost town.

"Was that all of them?" Emmett asked.

"No Martin wasn't here. Probably three or four others. I don't know where they would be."

"I do," Jenna told Cory. "He threatened Nita and my granddaughter."

Cory looked up at Jenna, and returned to wolf form quickly. There was no concerted effort this time. It was a mad dash for the house. Edward and Bella took the lead. Jacob had his pack spread out, and search for signs of the other pack.

As Bella and Edward approached the house, before the others, everything seemed quiet and normal. Bella went through the front door, and straight to the girl's room, while Edward circled the house, searching for signs of intrusion. When he found none, he joined Bella with the girls. In less than a minute, the others had arrived and were waiting in the front yard. Bella and Edward left the girls with Rosalie, who refused to leave them. Connie, in an attempt to hide her fear, was in the kitchen cooking with Esme. Bill and Tony quickly set up outdoor showers for everyone, so they could wash off the blood. Alice was one of the first to shower, so she ran for clothes for the others.

By the time everyone was cleaned and clothed, breakfast was ready. Alice made sure everyone was seated, as Esme and Connie loaded the table with food. The wolves grabbed at the food with only a small show of manners, while the others seemed to disheartened too eat.

"I'm so sorry," Cory began. "I never intended for any of this to happen. I was only..."

"Cory," Jenna began, "I think we all understand that you were only trying to save your race."

"I wanted my progeny to be something like what you have," and he looked at Jacob. "You have a well ordered pack. How is it you work so well as a team?"

The two alpha's talked about the differences between the Quileute pack, and just about every other type of were-species, and shifter, that Cory had ever known. By the end of the conversation, the two had become fast friends, and the girls had woke up and wanted breakfast. As they passed by the werewolf, Rose jumped across the room and prepared to restrain (kill) the man, should it be necessary.

"He won't hurt them," Edward tried to tell Rosalie. She only glared at him and watched the werewolf even closer.

"Did I hear right," Rosalie started, after the girls were safely seated with their parents. "This is the brother of Caius? The Volturi who wanted to kill Renesmee. The Volturi that wanted to kill Edward and Bella and Alice." Her voice was almost a hiss. "You sit and talk to him as if it was nothing."

"Rose," Carlisle quieted her. "He is a guest in Jenna's home."

"He's the leader of the werewolves that want to kill Renesmee and Nita," she spat at Cory.

"No one's killing the girls," Jacob pushed out between mouthfuls of food. "We're pretty sure that this Martin doesn't even know about us yet," Jacob smiled.

"When breakfast is done, we'll all discus the next move," Jenna ended all conversation. "Until then, everyone must eat. Carlisle, it might not be a bad idea to send our family out four at a time, to hunt. We don't know how long we may be waiting for signs of the others. Bill, Tony, you too Connie. Eat. I hate to waste food." and everyone ate. Bella, Edward, Jasper and Alice left to hunt. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rose, would go as soon as they returned.

The growing group of defenders was beginning to calm down and prepare for a fight. The food on the table quickly disappeared, and the Cullen women helped Connie clear the table. All but Rosalie. She refused to leave the girls, again.

"Not as long as that Volturi werewolf is in the house," She fought with Emmett.

"You need to hunt too," Emmett warned her.

"So does Nessie," Rose threw at him.

"Jacob is bringing her in a deer," Emmett told her. "We'll all cover the barn, while she eats."

"It's not hunting, she might not eat," Rose remembered when they had tried to get Renesmee to take down a deer, before. She had refused, saying that it tasted funny.

"She's old enough to understand that under these circumstances, there is no choice. We can't let her hunt," Emmett finished as he pulled Rose out the door with him. "We're all eating close to the house, today," and they joined Carlisle and Esme on thier hunt.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you very mush T. Rose, my beta reader, Without whom this chapter would be full of misspellings, bad grammar and undecipherable punctuation. Not to mention a couple of ambiguities. Thank you

* * *

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

HOME BY TWILIGHT

Chapter 11

Jacob/wolf had the two deer locked in empty stalls. He paced the barn while he waited for Nessie to arrive. The horses had all been released in preparation for this, and also in the case that Martin chose to attack the barn as a diversion. Everyone had already been told that all structures can be replaced. No energy was to be wasted on putting out fires. Everything important had already been placed in the basement. Under no circumstances was anyone to deviate from the plan.

"The plan," Jacob/wolf snuffed. "Just waiting and watching.

Leah was on the far side of the house from the barn. "Does Cory have wolf-speak?"

"Don't think so, Jacob thought back to her. Paul and I can hear each other, when they get close enough. I didn't get anything from him.

Quill came charging into the yard after running a circuit around the designated perimeter. "All clear," he reported to Jacob, then gave a nod, and Embry took off for his circuit.

"Why can't I run perimeter?" Seth complained. "I hate being stuck up here." Seth had been stationed in the loft of the barn. Should a problem occur, he could easily escape, and he had good views of the cluster of buildings around the house.

"Use your nose, Seth," Jacob told him. "You stand the highest. I can feel the breeze up there. Use it. Try to locate a direction these freaks can come from."

Seth hung his head for a moment. "Sorry, Jacob, I didn't..."

"Forget it kid. Just remember, we all have a job," Jacob looked up at Seth. "When it comes to protecting Nessie, no job is a small job. You have a good nose. I expect you to use it."

Seth raised his head and made his rounds around the openings along the upper level of the barn. He walked to a window, stuck his nose up to a corner of the opening, took a good sniff, and then slunk down to go to the next one. The trick was to catch a scent, but not give away his position.

"It's nasty!" Renesmee protested. "What good is a deer, unless you get to chase it first."

Edward was getting exasperated with his daughter. "You can't hunt right now," he tried again to make her understand. "It's just too dangerous."

"Mom!" Renesmee pleaded with her mother.

"Okay dear, let's make this simple. Are you hungry?" Bella asked her daughter.

"Starved."

"Do you want to feed off Nita and kill her?"

"Mom! No! How could you even think of something like that?"

"Then you _will_ stop this fussing. You _will_ walk to the barn. And you _will_ enjoy the deer that Jacob has for you." Bella stood and stared down at her daughter.

Renesmee studied her mother; arms crossed, angry stubborn look in her butterscotch eyes. "Mom," she started quietly, then with a long suffering sigh, her shoulders sagged and she gave in. "I'll do it," she announced standing, "but I won't like it."

"We don't need you to like it, baby girl," Edward put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "We just need you to stay strong."

Together, they walked down the stairs and out to the barn. Edward noticed that Rosalie was as good as her word. She refused to accept any position that did not have her protecting Renesmee. Her pigheadedness nearly started a fight, while they discussed the best way to deal with Martin and his pack. She would do rounds of the exterior of the barn, until they were done. But she would not allow herself to be too far from her niece.

Renesmee and her parents entered the barn, Edward made sure the door was closed tightly behind them. Renesmee ran to Jacob/wolf and scratched his furry head. "My Jacob," she whispered to him.

"I swear, Jacob," Bella began, "If you could purr, you would."

Jacob snuffed at Bella and turned and led Renesmee to one of the deer. Reluctantly she entered the stall and quickly dispatched the deer. With its neck broken, she began to feed from its throat. When she had drained it, she stood up and faced her family.

"I'm OK now. I really don't need the other one," she announced.

"But we don't know when you will be able to feed again, or how much energy you may need in the next couple days," her father told her.

"Go ahead, dear," Bella encouraged her daughter. "Finish the other one."

Renesmee jumped to the other stall. The second deer was panicky, having smelled the blood of its herd mate. It recognised Renesmee as a predator and was terrified, but Renesmee quickly brought it down and fed from its throat as well.

Renesmee didn't have the energy to jump out of the stall. She was simply too full for the leap. She left the stall by its door and buried her face in Jacobs neck. Edward leaned over, picked up his daughter, and placed her on Jacobs back. Together, they went back into the house.

Jacob carefully walked down into the basement. Edward took his daughter off Jacob, and gently placed her on one of the beds that had been moved to the basement for her and Nita. He looked over and saw Nita was still awake. Edward smiled at her, as her leaned down to kiss the forehead of his child.

Before Edward and Bella left the basement, Edward gave Jacob a warning look. Jacob nodded, and laid down on the rug that had been placed between the beds for him. There was only one entrance to the basement and Jacob kept his nose facing it. He would stay there with Renesmee and Nita until the fighting started, and all of the werewolves were accounted for. Then he would join in and Rosalie would stay with the girls. She had already taken up her post near the doorway.

"Seems like an awful lot of worry over four or five werewolves," Leah thought to Jacob.

"Look at what they're after," Jacob started. "They want the kids. One tiny mistake and they could be dead. I'd rather be over-prepared than risk losing either of them." Leah went silent, and continued her rounds.

Cory and Jenna talked quietly as they paced the upper floor of the house.

"Quite a crew you have assembled," Cory said to Jenna.

"It wasn't on purpose," Jenna replied, as she sat on the ledge of one of the windows. "I just wanted Bella to know me as her mother. I wanted her to feel safe, so I insisted that she bring her friends. I would have preferred that your progeny waited a couple weeks, before they decided to act like fools while I had a house full."

"I'm sorry, truly sorry. If I had known what they were planning, I would have handled them before things got so out of hand. I don't want to lose your friendship, Jenna. Jenna? That _is_ the name you are using now?"

"It's the name Bella knows me as. I've been her Aunt Jenna since she was born." Jenna looked out at the night and smiled.

"What makes you so happy? I almost never see you smile."

"Seeing them together; Bells, Edward and Renesmee. What a name. One day soon, before they realise it, I'll be calling that big red wolf Grandson-in-law." Jenna lost her smile and began to frown. "I just wish this was over with. You said he only had three or four others with him. So where the hell are they?"

"Martin may only have a handful of men with him, but they will be the best of the lot. They'll be big and heavy handed. And of course they'll be the most vicious and obedient wolves of the pack."

"He has to know that there's no way he can defeat Jacobs pack. Does he know that Bella, her family, and friends are all vampires? How can he possibly believe that he can win?" Jenna began to pace again.

After Renesmee had fed, Seth continued his rounds as instructed. He was the first to locate a direction.

"Jacob, I got one!" he relayed to his Alpha.

Jacob raised his head, "Direction?"

"North. Well, just east of north. It's only one."

"Quill, take Jasper and Alice. They're over in that direction... Good job Seth, but don't stop. There's more than just one." Jacob reminded the youngest member of his pack.

Quill was with Alice and Jasper in a matter of seconds. He snuffed at them and took off in the direction Seth had given him. Alice, smiling merrily, grabbed Jasper by the hand.

"Shall we, Lover?"

Jasper's face took on a serious visage, as he bounded after Quill with Alice at his side. As they ran, her smile turned in to a mask of scarcely controlled rage. Jasper smiled at her, his obscenely horrifying pixie. He could only marvel at her beauty. But he had other concerns this night. Jasper looked forward and sniffed the air, trying to locate the single werewolf.

Edward listened carefully and let Bella know everything he was able to pick up from the wolves. Bella gave a small smile as she listened to the 'play-by-play' coming from her husband.

"They found him … he's transformed back to a man. He's big. Quill has circled around behind him. … Jasper is talking to him. He says he wants to surrender. Alice just wants to kill him."

Bella charged into the basement at vampire speed to find Jacob. "Tell Quill to tell Jasper to wait. Keep him there," then she raced to the top floor to talk to Cory and Jenna.

"Do you think one of Martin's chosen would be surrendering?" Bella asked him.

"No!" Cory stepped toward Bella. "It would only be a trick to discover how our defences are laid out. He would have taken only the most obedient." Cory took a deep breath then looked Bella in the eyes. "Kill him. One way or another, they all must die. He'll be of no value as an information source either. Give the order, Bella." Cory looked at Jenna for a moment. "I give the order to execute him." Cory stood up straight, as he gave the order to destroy one of his progeny.

Bella nodded and raced back to the basement and told Jacob what the decision was. She was with Edward by the time Jacob finished relaying the message. Edward continued his narration of the event.

"Quill had changed long enough to tell Jasper. … Too late," Edward smiled a terribly fierce smile. "Alice didn't like the look of it. Before Quill finished talking to Jasper, he had started to change, and Alice ripped his head off. Jasper has him as now. He's got his heart. … They're starting a fire."

"One down, three or four more to go," Bella leaned into Edward and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Got one headed for the fire," Seth yelled into Jacobs mind a few minutes later. "Moving fast and coming from the east."

"Embry, you should be getting close. You got him?" Jacob asked.

"I'm right on his heels," Embry told Jacob. Seth had it right. He was coming from the east, headed straight for the fire."

"Was?" Jacob was curious by Embry's choice of words. He saw nothing in the minds of the members of his pack, to indicate the second werewolf was dead.

"Yeah, I guess Jasper decided that he wanted heads this time." Embry gave a small chuckle.

"Two down," Edward whispered to Bella, as they watched the distant fire flare up and burn brighter.

Edward's head was suddenly filled with noise. Leah and Seth yelled at the same time as three large werewolves lept into the yard from the south. Jenna and Cory jumped from the fourth floor, calling out war cries. Emmett stepped out of the house, to stand with Bella and Edward.

"Martin's not here," Cory called to Edward, and Bella charged to the basement to make sure that Jacob stayed there. Jacobs part of the plan had been simple; under no circumstances was he to leave the basement, until all the werewolves were accounted for.

The defenders in the front of the house made quick work of the three werewolves. Despite what their pack leader had told them, the Quileute wolves were much larger than they were ready for. With the vampires working with them, they never stood a chance. Then there was Jenna.

"Where is Martin," she demanded of the werewolf she had securely fastened herself to. She had her legs tightly clamped around the wolf's hind-quarters, one arm wrapped around his throat while the other hand held his muzzle tightly. If he were to change he would still be completely under her control.

The werewolf laughed at her, as he squirmed and fought to free himself.  
"He's getting those tasty treats you got stashed in that house," he proclaimed, as he tried to return to human form. He did not get the chance to finish. Jenna twisted his head and broke his neck. Cory, finished with the others, slammed his fist into the chest of the werewolf, and ripped out his heart.

Emmett had started a fire and the others began collecting body parts and throwing them into the fire. In the heat of battle, with the rage level high, more parts than were necessary got ripped from their anatomically correct position. Clean up took a few minutes. The humans Bill and Tony even came out to help. Connie came out to stand with Esme, and watch the fire burn away those that had threatened her daughter.

They watched as the fire flared high. Embry had returned from his perimeter check, and Jacob sent Leah out next. Jacob was not letting his guard down. Not with Martin still out there.


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you T. rose for the help and suggestions. They led me to find other things that I could change, to make it better.

* * *

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**HOME BY TWILIGHT**

**Chapter 12**

The fire flared high into the sky, as the three werewolves slowly burned to ash. Almost all of the Cullens were present, as well as Cory, Jenna and her employees. They watched as the fire calmed to a steady burn. Jacob's pack had continued their search for the elusive Martin. With Renesmee's life still on the line, Jacob was unwilling to let his guard down. It was the only reason that he was first to hear the noise. A sound of something small scratching at the wood alerted him.

Jacob got up to listen more carefully, as he walked to the far south corner of the basement. Rosalie watched him curiously, and then listened herself. She heard the scratching and bared her teeth. In an instant, Rosalie had gathered Nita and Renesmee and crouched over them in the north corner of the basement.

Jacob put his nose to the corner and gave a strong, quiet sniff. Rosalie watched as, hackles raised, Jacob bared his teeth at the menace above. He gave a look back at Rosalie and growled. Rosalie cut loose with an instinctive primal growl that would have left Jacob shaking, had it been aimed at him.

The Quileute pack converged on the house. They circled and growled at the structure, as they tried to find the invading Martin. Edward had been so wrapped up in the fire, that it wasn't until Seth dived out of the barn and headed for the house, that he realised that there was a problem. No one had expected Martin to attack so soon.

"Stupid... Stupid, stupid," Jasper repeated, as he turned to run into the house.

Edward and Bella got there first. They searched the house with their noses. Bella was able to tell where Martin had been, but only because she was the newest of the vampires and still recognised the smell of several strong soaps. Martin had tried to mask his scent with a bath. Probably several baths. The thought would have made her giggle, except for the fact that it had almost worked.

By the time the Quileute pack and the Cullens had converged on the house, the scratching had stopped. Cory, Jenna, Bill, Connie and Tony stayed with the fire. They listened to things being broken in the house as the search was being conducted.

"Guess I'll need to make a trip to town, by the time they're done," Jenna commented, as she patted Connie on the shoulder and took a few steps toward the house.

"I better pull out the cube truck tonight," Bill commented to himself, as he heard a loud cracking and wood splintering from the house. He used a garden rake to push an arm into the fire that had rolled out.

Cory had been right. Martin _was_ fast…and very strong. He had been waiting for his chance, and when Jenna walked a couple steps away from the group, and toward the house, he had it. The wolf flashed past the others and dragged Jenna by her arm, a few yards to the south. In a short time, almost as fast as Cory, he reverted to human form, and held Jenna in front of his naked body like a shield.

"Guess you know how this works," he growled at those around the fire, and the Cullens as they came flying out of the house. "Bring out that big red wolf," he demanded. "I want to see this monster shifter for myself. And come out from behind me, bitch."

Edward nodded to Leah, who had come around the house, behind Martin. She slowly walked around him, giving him plenty of distance, until she was close to Seth and the others of the pack.

"He wants you," Leah/wolf communicated to Jacob.

Jacob came up the stairs from the basement, and changed into human form, to find the clothes that had been set on a chair by the front door. "Going to try it non-threatening first," He thought to Edward, who nodded infinitesimally. Jacob stepped through the door and took a few steps toward Jenna and her capturer. He noticed that Martin's hands were paws with long sharp claws. His left arm went around Jenna. The paw was at her right hip, the claws sunk deep into her flesh. She bled from a bite mark on her upper right arm. And, Martin's right paw was at her throat twitching and occasionally drawing blood from Jenna's neck.

"Not the fierce beast I had been told about," Martin growled at Jacob. "You're just a stupid kid," and he threw his head back with a laugh that turned into a howl.

Jacob held his temper. Being around the Cullens had worked wonders for his temper, and his ability to remain calm. However it had done little for Leah's. She took a step forward to be at Jacob's side, as she growled in defence of her Alpha. Jacob put his hand out to quiet her.

"Yes," Jacob responded softly. "I'm just a shifter. So why don't you let Jenna go, and we can discuss it."

"We will, shifter," Martin spat back at him, "but first I need to get things straight with my father." Martin shifted Jenna to face in the direction of Cory. "The great Corin," he growled at his father. "What do you see in this silly human? Why do you protect her?" Martin's paws gripped Jenna harder, causing his claws to sink deeper into her. "What is she to you?"

Cory stepped forward to face his son. He walked toward him slowly, until Martin growled and pulled Jenna's head farther back.

"She is a friend, son. Just a friend. Someone I met long ago. Who knows what I am, who I am," Cory tried to reach closer to him, to reach Jenna.

"Stay back!" Martin yelled at his father. "You love her? You seem to care more for her than you did for any of our mothers.

Jenna moaned in pain. Martin jerked her in different directions as he spat words at his father. She worked to heal the wounds as his claws created them, but he was digging in deeper and deeper. She had long since stopped the bleeding in her upper arm. Now she was working to keep up with the damage he was currently doing.

"Martin, I chose your mother because she agreed to have a child by me, after I told her the truth. I chose her because I loved her. As for the others, I loved them too. You are my oldest son. You don't have to do this."

"But I do, father," The word "father" was thrown like an obscenity, as Martin continued to rage on. "You like these shape shifters," it was an accusation. "I'll give you this bitch in exchange for a chance to defeat this baby shifter."

"Done," Jacob stepped forward. "Everyone else will stay out of it." He gave a warning look to Leah and carefully side-stepped to get away from the house, and his pack.

"Alright," Carlisle stepped forward. "None of _my_ family will interfere. None of the pack will interfere. The fight will be between you and Jacob" Carlisle was at his most charming. He spoke calmly and smoothly, almost hypnotising Martin into a state of calm. It worked,well, almost. "Just let Jenna go, and Jacob will be ready whenever you are." Carlisle finished.

" All of you back off," Martin yelled and shook his head free of Carlisle's influence. He picked Jenna off the ground and swung her around some more. "Go back beyond the fire." The Cullens complied, but Jacob had to order the pack to obey.

"Martin," Cory tried again, "let her go."

"Behind the fire," Martin made sure that Cory could see that his claws were beginning to gouge out a large portion of Jenna's side. "Now!"he barked at his father. Cory finally moved to join the rest of the watchers.

Martin manoeuvred himself closer to the fire, watching Jacob the entire time. When he had achieved his goal, he threw Jenna into the fire, without retracting his claws. Jenna screamed as she rolled out of the fire, on the other side. Cory and Carlisle were there to catch her. They put out the fire in her clothes and began to examine her wounds.

Martin crouched low and held a knife in his right hand. He and Jacob circled each other, until neither one of them had the fire in their eyes. Martin suddenly lunged at Jacob, and Jacob sprang at Martin at the same time, changing to wolf form. Martin tried to reverse his lunge mid-leap. He was not prepared for the true size of his opponent. Instead of meeting Jacob straight on, Martin dived under the massive wolf. As he hit the ground, Martin rammed his knife up into Jacobs flank.

Jacob hit the ground and found that his left back leg was unable to withstand his weight. He looked back at it, saw the blood, and turned to bare his teeth and growl at the smaller naked man. Martin howled in triumph as he called "First Blood," and waved his knife at Jacob.

"No!" the high pitched scream came from Renesmee, who had just fought her way out of the basement. Nita escaped Rosalie's hold and ran to her parents, but Renesmee tried to run to Jacob. As fast as Edward was, it was not fast enough. The distance was too small. Martin grabbed Renesmee and threatened her with his bloody knife.

Renesmee and Jacob had played many games. Breaking out of jail, was one of them. Jacob would wrap his arms around her and try to hold her in place. Renesmee had become an expert at escaping. She tested the strength of this man and knew she could escape. Now she watched her Jacob, as he circled around his opponent. She saw him wink at her, and realized that he knew she would be able to escape. Now all she needed was a signal from him. She watched as his muscles contracted, in preparation for him to spring at her capturer.

The next five things happened almost simultaneously. Jacob sniffed at the naked man holding his Renesmee. She bit into the hand of the naked man that threatened her with a knife, so he had to drop the knife and her. Jacob pounced on him as Renesmee ran from his hold. Edward raced out to snatch his daughter from the immediate area of the fight, and Martin transformed into a wolf.

Martin attempted to bite through Jacob's chest, to shred his ribs and capture his heart. Jacob/wolf forced his own large furry head down, so Martin was unable to bite at him fully, but that left his ears and the back of his neck in Martin's line of rage. Jacob yelped as Martin/wolf chomped at Jacob's ear and neck and shook him like a rag doll. Jacob lost his footing, and Martin dragged him around by his neck. Jacob suddenly dug his claws into the dirt. He stopped his sliding and stood up to his full height. He raised himself up on his hind legs and pulled Martin off the ground.

With Martin dangling off Jacob's neck, with no footing at all, Jacob reached over and bit Martin just under his left front leg. He ripped out a large portion of Martin/wolf's side. Martin lost his hold on Jacob's neck, and he howled in pain. He fell to his back, and Jacob was on him in a flash.

Jacob took Martin by the throat and twisted and shook his prey until his head was separated from his body. The giant red wolf threw the head into the fire and watched it blaze high again. Then he sat back on his haunches and watched the body of the wolf he had defeated turn slowly back into a man. Cory came to stand by the body of his eldest and last son, and watched the change. When he was fully human, Cory leaned over his son, as if to kiss him, and punched through his chest and pulled out his heart. It was Cory who placed the body in the fire.

Renesmee squirmed free from her father and ran to Jacob/wolf. Ignoring the blood, she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to cry.

"Jacob, my Jacob. How bad did he hurt you?" her tears mingled with the blood that matted the fur on his neck, but his rapid healing had already stopped the blood.

Once again, Alice ran to the house to bring clothes out for Jacob. Renesmee refused to release him so he could go and change. Carlisle was also there, checking his wounds. Jacob/wolf finally gave up and changed back into a human. He wrapped his arms around Renesmee and held her so her face stayed in his neck. Alice helped him with the sweat pants she had grabbed for him, all the while humming some silly tune and giggling.

Carlisle verified that there were no broken bones, and that the knife wound was healing well, and quickly. Esme brought Carlisle his bag so he could put a couple of stitches into Jacob's ear, upper back, and neck. They would heal better if everything was where it was supposed to be.

Jacob stood still for all of it. Nothing mattered. The only thing that mattered to him was the sound of Renesmee crying in his good ear.

"My poor Jacob. My poor, poor Jacob," she cried and stoked his hair and back.

Jacob, along with Bella and Edward, took Renesmee to her room and put her into bed. She still refused to let go of Jacob's hand, but she did fall asleep soon after being tucked into her bed. Jacob slept on the floor, in human form, next to Renesmee's bed. Rosalie stood by the head of the bed all night, watching Jacob.


	13. Chapter 13

Many much thanks to T. Rose my beta, Good luck with Yale.

* * *

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

**Home by Twilight**

**Epilogue**

The fire had long since burned out. Jacob's pack had decided it was too hot for them in Nevada and headed home. Cory decided to stay a few days and learn more from Jacob. The Cullens enjoyed the sun and freedom of being outside without fear.

"Too bad we can't play baseball," Emmett complained.

"Why can't you?" Jenna asked.

"You haven't heard them play," Bella threw in. "Sounds like a bad thunderstorm."

"I still don't understand why you can't play now." Jenna took a fork full of food as all the Cullens looked at her. "What? We have everything you need: bats, balls, open space."

"Man!" Tony had a broad grin on his face, "I'd love to see you guys play"

"It's very..._very_ loud," Bella tried to explain again.

"There's no one around for miles," Jenna explained. "No one is allowed on the property, and you know how extensive it is. Let's play this afternoon."

The plan was made, the teams created. The humans would cheer and Cory and Jacob would referee. Nita and Renesmee would act as bat girls, both excited to be part of the game.

They began around twelve-thirty in the afternoon and didn't finish until well after dark. Nita and her family, along with Bill, had gone back to the house when they could no longer see the ball or the players.

When the game finally ended, it was decided that no one was the winner. A draw had lasted for six innings. On the way back to the house, they drew up new rules for the next game.

The talk around the dinner table was exciting and included everyone, even the girls, which gave them great pleasure. After dinner, the girls were tucked into bed. They fell asleep almost instantly. The humans chatted for a while and then took to their beds as well.

Rosalie took up her usual position just inside the girls' room. From there she could hear the conversation in Carlisle's room.

"My two weeks is over," he let the others know. "I have to leave tomorrow."

"We should all leave," Bella announced.

"I thought you would want to stay a while longer," Edward turned to his wife. "You said you had many more questions for Jenna."

"I do, but they'll keep. Maybe we should come back around Christmas?" she asked Edward.

Edward thought it over for a second. "What about Christmas Eve in Forks," he suggested, "and we run down here for Christmas morning?"

"Sounds great," Bella agreed. "I think we should talk to Jenna, before we finalise."

"Of course," Edward agreed.

The rest of the night was spent with Alice supervising the packing. Bella left things there for herself and Edward. Renesmee would have grown out of many of her things by then. As the plans for leaving moved forward, Bella became excited to see her father again. She had missed him, but she was worried about telling him the truth. _Or at least a part of the truth about her, _Bella thought_._

Edward gave her a concerned look, and took her in his arms. He brushed the back of his fingers along her jawline, and one side of his mouth curled up in a half smile.

"What's wrong?"

"Charlie," Bella frowned. "I have to tell him that I've known Jenna all my life. He might not take it well."

"But he may be grateful that Renee didn't have to be traumatised again."

"There is that." Bella began to smile.

Their door cracked open and Alice peeked in. "Ready?" She asked. "Connie has breakfast about ready, so everyone will be up soon."

The three were joined in the hall by the rest of the family. Connie began ringing the breakfast bell just as they arrived in the dining room. They sat at the far end of the table and waited for the rest. The girls came flying down the stairs with Rosalie right behind them.

"You haven't even tried any of my mom's cooking," Nita complained to Renesmee.

"I don't like human food," Renesmee informed her.

"Just try one little piece," Nita coaxed. "Just one tiny piece of French toast. No syrup."

Renesmee wanted to please her friend so she took a nibble of the piece of bread she was offered. Renesmee's eyes got big, and she started to smile.

"Try it with a little syrup," Nita poured a small serving of syrup on the piece of cooked bread.

Again Renesmee took a very small bite. Again she smiled, bigger this time.

"This is good," Renesmee looked at her mother and father. "Why didn't you ever give me French toast?"

Bella leaned into Edward so Renesmee couldn't see her huge smile, while Edward just shrugged his shoulders and smiled at his daughter's great revelation.

About then Jenna and Cory came down for breakfast. Actually, Jenna came down the stairs, and Cory came in through the front door. No one said a word, but everyone had heard Cory land from his jump from the fourth floor.

When everyone was settled, Carlisle announced that it was time for them to leave. Arrangements were made, and everyone was invited back for Christmas. Alice took this the best. She even asked to come early to decorate. Jenna laughed and agreed while the Cullens and Jacob rolled their eyes.

Bill pulled out the van at one o'clock to take everyone to the airport. It became a very big deal to say goodbye. There was a lot of hugging, kissing, and even a few tears. But they finally got into their van to get on their way to the airport. Bill had done his best to time it so they would arrive in Forks at about twilight.

Cory turned to Jenna as the van drove down the dirt road that led to the Highway 230.

"Do you think you'll ever tell her?" Cory asked.

"She's not ready. She loves her life the way it is. When... well, _if _that changes, then I'll tell her how to become human again."

"She won't do it without him."

"If she wants it, he'll want it."

"What about the rest?"

"All in good time, my dear friend." Jenna smiled at Cory. Her smile suddenly turned into a look of annoyance. "Oh, Hell."

"What's wrong?"

"The Elko county Sheriff," Jenna announced quietly. "He probably wants to know what happened to half of the rowdy drunks from Wells."

"And Halleck," Cory added.

"And Arthur," Jenna finished

In unison they looked at each other and sighed.

"Shit!"


End file.
